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OF  CALIFORNIA 


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IE       ASTRAL       EDITION       HAS         BEEN         EXTRA 
ILLUSTRATED      AND       BOUND       BY 

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ED       TO       TWELVE       STAR       COPIES 


UNIFORM  EDITION 


NEW   YORK 

A  Sketch  of  the   City's   Social,  Political,  and 

Commercial  Progress  from  the  First 

Dutch  Settlement  to 

Recent  Times 


By 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


PHILADELPHIA 

GEBBIE  AND  COMPANY 
1903 


Copyright,  1891. 
Copyright,  1903. 


BY 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


This  edition  of   "New  York"    is   issued    under   special 
arrangement  with  Longmans,  Green  and  Company. 


GIFT 


PREFACE. 


.3 
1103 


M 


RS.  MARTHA  J.  LAMB'S  "History  of  the 
City  of  New  York,"  the  other  histories  of 
the  city  by  Miss  Booth,  and  Messrs.  Loss- 
ing,  Todd,  and  Valentine;  the  Brodhead  and 
O'Callaghan  papers;  Hammond's  " Political  His- 
tory of  New  York;"  Dougherty's  "Constitutions 
of  New  York;"  Cooper's  "Satanstoe"  and  "Miles 
Wallingf ord ; "  Tuckerman's  "Diary  of  Philip 
Hone;"  Parton's  "Topics  of  the  Time;"  Adams's 
"Chapter  of  Erie;"  Shea's  and  De  Courcey's 
"History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States;"  and  Lounsbury's  admirable  "Life  of 
Cooper," — the  best  piece  of  American  literary 
biography  ever  yet  done, — are  among  the  author- 
ities consulted  in  preparing  this  volume.  I  wish 
to  express  my  particular  thanks  to  Mr.  Brander 
Matthews,  who  indeed  is  responsible  for  my  un- 
dertaking to  write  the  book  at  all. 

The  limited  space  allowed  forbade  the  use  of 
the  vast  mass  of  manuscript  which  was  obtain- 
able. The  temptation  was  very  great  to  attempt 
a  more  exhaustive  study  of  the  events  of  the  last 
forty  years, — that  is,  the  history  of  modern  and 


iv  Preface 

contemporary  New  York;  for  this  is  the  most 
important  and  instructive  portion  of  our  history, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Federalist 
period.  But  of  course  such  a  study  would  be 
entirely  out  of  place  in  a  book  of  this  kind. 

It  has  been  my  aim  less  to  collect  new  facts 
than  to  draw  from  the  immense  storehouse  of 
facts  already  collected  those  which  were  of  real 
importance  in  New  York  history,  and  to  show 
their  true  meaning,  and  their  relations  to  one 
another;  to  sketch  the  workings  of  the  town's 
life,  social,  commercial,  and  political,  at  suc- 
cessive periods,  with  their  sharp  transformations 
and  contrasts;  and  to  trace  the  causes  which 
gradually  changed  a  little  Dutch  trading-hamlet 
into  a  huge  American  city.  I  have  also  striven 
to  make  clear  the  logical  sequence  and  continuity 
of  these  events;  to  outline  the  steps  by  which 
the  city  gradually  obtained  a  free  political  life; 
and  to  give  proper  prominence  to  the  remark- 
able and  ever-recurring  revolutions  in  the  ethnic 
make-up  of  our  mixed  population, — a  population 
which  from  the  beginning  has  been  composed  of 
many  different  race-elements,  and  which  has 
owed  its  marvelous  growth  more  to  immigration 
than  to  natural  increase. 

I  had  to  content  myself  with  barely  touching 
on  the  social  and  political  problems  of  the  present 
day;  for  to  deal  with  these  at  any  length  would 


Preface  v 

turn  the  volume  into  a  tract  instead  of  a  history. 
I  have  no  wish  to  hide  or  excuse  our  faults ;  for  I 
hold  that  he  is  often  the  best  American  who  strives 
hardest  to  correct  American  shortcomings,  and  is 
most  willing  to  profit  by  the  wisdom  and  experi- 
ence of  other  nations,  especially  of  those  that  are 
nearest  akin  to  us  by  blood,  belief,  speech,  and 
law,  and  that  are  knit  closest  to  us  by  the  kindly 
ties  of  a  former  common  history  and  common 
tradition. 

Nevertheless,  I  am  just  as  little  disposed  to 
give  way  to  undue  pessimism  as  to  undue  and 
arrogant  optimism.  Both  our  virtues  and  defects 
should  be  taken  into  account.  For  instance,  there 
are  great  European  cities  with  much  cleaner 
municipal  governments  than  ours;  but  on  the 
other  hand,  the  condition  of  the  masses  of  the 
population  in  these  same  cities  is  much  worse 
than  it  is  in  New  York.  Our  marked  superiority 
in  one  respect  is  no  excuse  or  palliation  for  our 
lamentable  falling  off  in  another;  but  it  must 
at  least  be  accepted  as  an  offset.  We  have  been 
favored  with  some  peculiar  advantages,  and  we 
have  been  forced  to  struggle  against  other  peculiar 
disadvantages;  and  both  must  be  given  due 
weight. 

In  speaking  to  my  own  countrymen  there  is 
one  point  upon  which  I  wish  to  lay  especial  stress ; 
that    is,  the   necessity  for   a   feeling  of  broad, 


vi  Preface 

radical,  and  intense  Americanism,  if  good  work  is 
to  be  done  in  any  direction.  Above  all,  the  one 
essential  for  success  in  every  political  movement 
which  is  to  do  lasting  good,  is  that  our  citizens 
should  act  as  Americans ;  not  as  Americans  with 
a  prefix  and  qualification — not  as  Irish  Americans, 
German  Americans,  Native  Americans, — but  as 
Americans  pure  and  simple.  It  is  an  outrage  for 
a  man  to  drag  foreign  politics  into  our  contests, 
and  vote  as  an  Irishman  or  German  or  other  for- 
eigner, as  the  case  may  be ;  and  there  is  no  worse 
citizen  than  the  professional  Irish  dynamiter  or 
German  anarchist,  because  of  his  attitude  toward 
our  social  and  political  life,  not  to  mention  his 
efforts  to  embroil  us  with  foreign  powers.  But 
it  is  no  less  an  outrage  to  discriminate  against 
one  who  has  become  an  American  in  good  faith, 
merely  because  of  his  creed  or  birthplace.  Every 
man  who  has  gone  into  practical  politics  knows 
well  enough  that  if  he  joins  good  men  and  fights 
those  who  are  evil,  he  can  pay  no  heed  to  lines 
of  division  drawn  according  to  race  and  religion. 
It  would  be  well  for  New  York  if  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  her  native-born  children  came  up  to  the 
standard  set  by  not  a  few  of  those  of  foreign  birth. 
The  two  men  who  did  most  to  give  Brooklyn  good 
municipal  government  were  two  mayors,  one  of 
German  birth,  the  other  of  pure  native  American 
stock.     My  own  warmest  and  most  disinterested 


Preface 


VII 


political  friends  and  supporters  in  the  city,  and 
most  trusty  allies  in  the  State  Legislature,  in- 
cluded men  of  Irish  and  German  no  less  than  of 
native  American  descent, — but  all  of  them  gen- 
uine Americans,  the  former  just  as  much  so  as  the 
latter.  No  city  could  wish  representatives  more 
loyal  and  disinterested  in  their  devotion  to  the 
welfare  of  the  commonwealth, — a  devotion  for 
which  they  were  often  ill  rewarded.  Of  the  last 
four  mayors  of  New  York,  two  have  been  of  native 
and  two  of  Irish  stock;  and  no  political  line  can 
be  drawn  among  them  which  will  not  throw  one 
Irishman  and  one  American  on  one  side,  and  one 
Irishman  and  one  American  on  the  other.  In 
short,  the  most  important  lesson  taught  by  the 
history  of  New  York  City  is  the  lesson  of  Amer- 
icanism,— the  lesson  that  he  among  us  who 
wishes  to  win  honor  in  our  life,  and  to  play  his 
part  honestly  and  manfully,  must  be  indeed  an 
American  in  spirit  and  purpose,  in  heart  and 
thought  and  deed. 

Sagamore  Hill, 

November,  1890. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

DISCOVERY    AND    FIRST    SETTLEMENT.        1609-1626 

Hendrik  Hudson's  discoveries — Spirit  of  exploration — Con- 
quests of  Spain  and  Portugal — Sea-rovers  of  Holland  and 
England — Settlements  on  the  Atlantic  Coast — Effect  of  battle 
of  Lutzen  on  America — Hudson's  relations  with  the  Indians — 
Exploration  of  the  Hudson  River — Adrian  Block,  the  first 
shipbuilder  of  America — The  fur  trade — The  New  Netherland 
Company — The  West  India  Company — Foundation  of  the 
city — Arrival  of  Peter  Minuit 1-13 

CHAPTER  II 

THE     DUTCH     TOWN     UNDER     THE     FIRST     THREE      DIRECTORS. 
1626-1647 

Purchase  of  Manhattan  Island — New  Amsterdam  founded 
— Physical  features  of  the  island — Minuit 's  administration — 
Old-world  ideas  of  colonization — The  fur  trade — Patroons — 
Vassalage  of  early  settlers — Early  farming — Shipbuilding — 
Wouter  Van  Twiller's  administration — The  first  schoolmaster 
— Relations  with  Indians — Troubles  between  Dutch  and 
English — Colonies  on  the  Connecticut  and  the  Delaware — 
Kieft's  administration — Improvements  under  Kieft — Immi- 
gration— Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware — Indian  wars 
and  massacres — Foundation  of  popular  government — Re- 
moval of  Kieft 14-30 

CHAPTER  III 

STUYVESANT  AND  THE   END  OF   DUTCH   RULE.        1647-1664 

Stuyvesant's  character — Improvement  of  the  colony — 
Ethnic  features  of  early  population — Incorporation  of  the 


Contents 


city — The  stockade  on  the  site  of  Wall  Street — The  canal — 
Ravages  by  wolves — Early  colonial  architecture  and  cos- 
tumes— New  Year  celebrations — Troubles  with  Indians — 
Revolt  on  Long  Island — Religious  persecution — Seizure  of 
New  Netherlands  by  the  English 3 1-45 

CHAPTER  IV 

NEW   AMSTERDAM    BECOMES    NEW    YORK.       THE    BEGINNING   O* 
ENGLISH    RULE.       1664-1674 

The  city  rechristened — English  rule  all  along  the  coast — 
Dangers  surrounding  the  settlements — Rule  of  Governor 
Nicolls — Religious  liberty — Naturalization — Race  prejudice 
— Aristocracy — Refusal  of  right  to  elect  representatives — 
The  peace  of  Breda — Administration  of  Governor  Lovelace — 
The  first  social  club — Troubles  with  Long  Island  Puritans — 
Prosperity — Whaling  and  fisheries — Early  conception  of  the 
New  York  Exchange — English  and  Dutch  war — Establish- 
ment of  mails — Recapture  of  New  York  by  the  Dutch — Ad- 
ministration of  Governor  Colve — Cession  of  the  city  to  the 
English — Appointment  of  Governor  Andros 46-59 

CHAPTER  V 

NEW    YORK    UNDER   THE    STUARTS.        1674-1688 

Administration  of  Governor  Andros — Flour  monopoly — 
Abolition  of  Indian  slavery — Contemplated  invasion  of  New 
England — Recall  of  Andros — Administration  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Brockholls — Internal  disturbances — Demand  for  a 
Provincial  Assembly — Administration  of  Governor  Dongan — 
Religious  toleration — Establishment  of  the  Provincial  As- 
sembly— Charter  of  liberties  and  privileges — Self-government 
secured — Naturalization — Increased  prosperity — The  Board 
of  Aldermen — Sabbatarian  laws — Tyranny  of  James  II. — 
Downfall  of  Dongan — Reappointment  of  Andros — Accession 
of  William  III. — Fall  of  Andros — Union  between  English  and 
Dutch  elements — Race  differences  and  fusion 60-7  a 


Contents  xi 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE    USURPATION    OF    LEISLER.       1689-1691 

Internal  dissensions — Rise  of  the  popular  party — Leader- 
ship of  Leisler  and  Milborne — Religious  troubles — Seizure  of 
the  fort  by  Leisler — The  popular  party  in  control  of  the  city — 
Machinations  of  the  House  of  Stuart — Headstrong  policy  of 
Leisler — Animosity  between  Leisler  and  the  Aristocracy — 
Leisler's  treason — Committee  of  safety — Election  of  the  first 
mayor — Congress  of  the  colonies — Expedition  against  Canada 
— Privateering — Waning  power  of  Leisler — Appointment  of 
Governor  Sloughter — Skirmish  between  regulars  and  militia 
— Execution  of  Leisler  and  Milborne — Downfall  of  the  popular 
party — Limited  religious  liberty 73-88 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE    GROWTH    OP    THE    COLONIAL    SEAPORT.        1691-1720 

Wars  with  France — Self-government — Shipping  industries 
— Privateers  and  pirates — Slave  trade — Foundations  of  large 
fortunes — Freebooters — Governor  Fletcher's  connivance  at 
piracy — Administration  of  Fletcher — Smuggling — Recall  of 
Fletcher — Administration  of  Governor  Bellomont — Active 
measures  against  pirates — Career  of  Captain  Kidd — Reform 
of  land  system — Election  frauds — Administration  of  Lord 
Cornbury — Demands  for  self-government — Administration  of 
Governor  Hunter — German  immigration 89-107 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    CLOSE    OP    THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.       1720-1764 

Characteristics  of  population — Religious  bodies — English 
the  official  language — King's  College — Social  lines — Social 
,  customs — Sports — Armorial  bearings — Dutch  festivals — Ed- 
ucation— Constituents  of  New  York  society — Labor — Negro 
slavery — Negro  insurrection — Incendiary  fires  —  The  New 
York  Gazette — The  Weekly  Journal — Liberty  of  the  press — 
Family  factions 108-135 


xii  Contents 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE    UNREST    BEFORE    THE    REVOLUTION.        1764-1774 

A  new  chapter  in  American  history — Threatened  disruption 
of  colonial  system — European  theory  of  colonization — Atti- 
tude of  colonies  toward  Mother  Country  in  matters  of  defense 
— Verdict  of  history  on  revolt  of  the  colonies — British  opera- 
tions— Position  of  the  colonies  contrasted  with  that  of  the 
Federal  Union  of  States — Classes  and  parties — New  York 
leaders  of  the  Revolution — The  Stamp  Act — Sons  of  Liberty 
— Stamp- Act  riots — Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act — The  Billeting 
Act — The  Liberty- Pole  riots — The  Tea  Act  and  its  results — 
The  First  Continental  Congress 126-148 

CHAPTER  X 

THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR.        1775-1783 

The  Second  Continental  Congress — Lukewarmness  about 
Revolution — The  Loyalists — Mob  violence — Closing  of  Epis- 
copal Churches — The  struggle  for  independence — Abolition 
of  the  Colonial  Assembly — Washington  assumes  command  in 
New  York — Weakness  of  the  city — British  operations  against 
New  York — The  Hessians — Tory  plots — American  defeat  on 
Long  Island — Washington's  evacuation  of  the  city — Defeat 
at  Kip's  Bay — Action  at  Haarlem  Heights — Battle  of  White 
Plains — Washington's  retreat  to  New  Jersey — Victory  at 
Trenton — Terrors  of  the  British  occupation — Great  fires — 
Execution  of  Nathan  Hale — Horrors  of  the  prisons — Wash- 
ington's difficulties — British  evacuation 149-172 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE    FEDERALIST    CITY.        1783-1800 

Depression  after  the  Revolution — Improvements  and  re- 
building— Columbia  College — The  New  York  Society  Library 
— The  State  Constitution — Religious  toleration — The  New 
York  Medical  Society — The  "Doctors'  Mob"  riots — Enlarge- 


Contents  xiii 

ment  of  commerce — Suffrage,  and  appointment  to  office — 
Municipal  government — State  patronage — Foundation  of  the 
Federal  Government — Leaders  of  the  Federalist  party — Gov- 
ernor Clinton — "The  Federalist " — Procession  in  honor  of  the 
Federal  Constitution — New  York  the  Federal  capital — The 
Jeffersonian  Republicans — Federal  patronage — Aaron  Burr — 
Scurrility  of  the  press — Political  riots — Election  of  Burr  to  the 
Vice-Presidency — Downfall  of  the  Federalist  party    173-192 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE    BEGINNING    OF    DEMOCRATIC    RULE.        180I-182I 

Tie  vote  between  Jefferson  and  Burr — Rise  of  democratic 
supremacy — The  spoils  system — Family  influence  in  politics 
— Downfall  of  Burr — Hamilton  killed  by  Burr — Fall  of  the 
Livingstons  from  power — Political  bitterness — State  banks — 
Social  life  and  customs — Municipal  regulations — Markets — 
Sanitary  deficiencies — Charities — Foundation  of  free-school 
system — Scientific  and  literary  societies — Literature — Begin- 
ning of  steam  navigation — The  War  of  1812 — Right  of 
search — Privateering — European  immigration — Assimilation 
of  the  Dutch — Negro  emancipation — The  "New  England 
invasion" 193-212 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE     GROWTH    OF    THE     COMMERCIAL    AND    DEMOCRATIC    CITY. 
l82I-l86o 

Increased  population — Constitutional  amendments — Ex- 
tension of  suffrage — Negro  suffrage — Constitutional  pro- 
visions for  election  of  officers — Material  prosperity — The  Erie 
Canal — Steam  transportation  and  electricity — Commercial 
enterprise — Careers  of  John  Jacob  Astor  and  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt — The  fur  trade — The  clipper  ships  of  New  York — 
Decay  of  shipping — Dangers  of  poverty — Increase  of  immi- 
gration— The  German  population — The  Irish  population — 
Americanization  of  immigrants — Growth  of  the  Roman 
Catholic    Church — The    cholera    epidemic — Riots — Political 


xiv  Contents 

parties — Roman  Catholic  opposition  to  the  public-school 
system — Power  of  Tammany  Hall — Election  frauds — Munici- 
pal bribery — State  interference  in  municipal  matters — Police 
riots — Architecture — Art  and  literature — European  travel 
and  its  influence — Social  features 213-244 

CHAPTER  XIV 

RECENT    HISTORY.        1860-1890 

Increase  of  population  and  municipal  territory — Outbreak 
of  the  Civil  War — Secession  influences — Reawakened  loyalty 
— Active  support  of  the  Federal  Government — Draft  riots — 
Hibernian  riots — Political  corruption — Stock-swindling — The 
Tweed  ring — Dangers  of  the  political  system,  and  their 
remedies — Change  of  character  of  immigration — Relative 
strength  of  the  churches — Improvement  in  architecture — The 
East  River  Bridge — Central  Park — Clubs — Public  buildings 
— Charities — Cooper  Union — Celebration  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution's centennial — Science,  art,  and  literature — Social 
life — Future  prospects 245-264 

Postscript   265 

Index 277 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Government  House,   1790     .       .  Frontispiece 

Wall  Street  from  Trinity  Church      .        .  38 

Federal  Hall,  1797 174 

City  of  New  York,   1803         ....  194 

Corporal   Thompson's    House    of    Refresh- 
ment      .        .                  .         .         .         .         .  204 

Ruins  after  the  Great  Fire,   1835       .         .  234 


These  illustrations  are  reproductions  from  the  collection  of  the 
Hon.  John  D.  Crimmins. 


NEW  YORK 


CHAPTER  I. 

DISCOVERY    AND    FIRST    SETTLEMENT.       1609-1626. 

EARLY  in  September,  1609,  the  ship  Half- 
Moon,  restlessly  skirting  the  American 
coast,  in  the  vain  quest  for  a  strait  or  other 
water  route  leading  to  India,  came  to  the  mouth 
of  a  great  lonely  river,  flowing  silently  out  from 
the  heart  of  the  unknown  continent.  The  Half- 
Moon  was  a  small,  clumsy,  high-pooped  yacht, 
manned  by  a  score  of  Dutch  and  English  sea-dogs, 
and  commanded  by  an  English  adventurer  then 
in  Dutch  pay,  and  known  to  his  employers  as 
Hendrik  Hudson.  He,  his  craft,  and  his  crew 
were  all  typical  of  the  age, — an  age  fertile  in  ad- 
venture-loving explorers,  eager  to  sail  under  any 
flag  that  promised  glory  and  profit,  at  no  matter 
what  cost  of  hardship  and  danger;  an  age  fertile 
also  beyond  measure  in  hardy  seamen,  of  whom 
the  hardiest  and  bravest  came  from  England  and 
the  Netherlands.     It  was  a  period  when  the  great- 


2  New  York 

est  deeds  were  done  on  the  ocean  by  these  rough 
heroes  of  cutlass  and  compass.  They  won  honor 
by  exploring  unknown  seas  and  taking  possession 
of  and  subjugating  unknown  lands,  no  less  than 
by  their  prowess  in  the  grim  water-fights  which 
have  made  their  names  immortal.  Their  small 
ships  dared  the  dangers  of  the  most  distant  oceans, 
and  shattered  the  sea-might  of  every  rival  naval 
power;  and  they  themselves  led  lives  of  stormy 
peril  and  strong  pleasure,  and  looked  forward 
unmoved  to  inevitable  death  in  some  one  of  their 
countless  contests  with  man  or  with  the  elements. 
For  a  century  and  a  quarter  Spain  and  Portugal 
had  not  only  taken  the  lead  in,  but  had  almost 
monopolized  all  ocean  exploration  and  trans- 
oceanic settlement  and  conquest,  while  the  most 
daring  navigators  were  to  be  found  in  their  ranks, 
or  among  the  Italians  who  served  both  them  and 
their  rivals.  Even  at  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  they  were  still  the  only  peoples 
who  had  permanently  occupied  any  portion  of  the 
New  World;  and  their  vast  possessions  included 
all  of  tropical,  sub-tropical,  and  south-temperate 
America.  But  by  this  time,  in  a  hundred  fights 
the  sea-beggars  and  sea-rovers  of  Holland  and 
England  had  destroyed  the  cumbrous  navies  of 
the  Spanish  king,  and  won  from  those  who  fought 
for  his  flag  the  mastery  of  the  ocean.  Spain  was 
still  a  great  power;  but  it  was  a  power  whose 


First  Settlement  3 

might  was  waning.  From  the  time  when  the 
races  of  middle  and  northern  Europe  first  planted 
their  standards  in  the  New  World  they  have  stood 
toward  the  Spaniards  and  Spanish  Americans  as 
aggressors.  Their  blows  had  to  be  parried  and 
returned;  sometimes  they  have  been  returned 
with  good  effect,  but  as  a  whole  the  Spanish  people 
have  always  been  on  the  defensive,  fearing,  not 
threatening,  conquest. 

Yet,  though  the  career  of  Spain  as  a  conquering 
power  was  thus  cut  short,  two  pregnant  centuries 
passed  by  before  her  children  lost  any  consider- 
able portion  of  the  land  which  she  held  when  the 
ships  of  the  English  colonists  first  sighted  the 
shores  of  America.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  Atlantic  coast  from 
Acadia  to  Florida  became  dotted  with  the  settle- 
ments of  half  a  dozen  different  European  nations. 
At  irregular  intervals  along  this  extended  sea- 
board the  French,  the  English,  the  Dutch,  the 
Swedes,  as  well  as  the  Spaniards,  built  little  forts 
and  established  small  trading-towns.  When  the 
English  had  fairly  begun  to  take  root  in  New 
England  and  Virginia,  the  Dutch  still  held  the 
Hudson,  and  the  Swedes  the  mouth  of  the  Dela- 
ware; Acadia, was  still  French,  and  Florida  Span- 
ish. It  was  altogether  uncertain  which  one  of 
these  races  would  prove  victor  over  the  others,  or 
whether  any  one  would.     There  was  at  least  a 


4  New  York 

good  chance  that  even  the  Spaniards  would  hold 
their  own,  and  that  temperate  North  America, 
like  temperate  Europe,  would  be  held  by  many- 
nations,  differing  one  from  the  other  in  speech,  in 
religion,  and  in  blood.  We  have  grown  so  accus- 
tomed to  regarding  America  north  of  the  Rio 
Grande  as  the  natural  heritage  of  the  English- 
speaking  peoples  that  we  find  it  hard  to  realize 
how  uncertain  seemed  the  prospect  at  the  period 
when  colonization  began.  None  could  foretell 
which  power  would  win  in  the  struggle;  and  the 
fate  of  America  was  bound  up  in  wars  in  which 
her  future  was  hardly,  if  at  all,  considered.  If 
Gustavus  Adolphus  had  not  fallen  on  the  field  of 
Lutzen,  and  had  he  founded,  as  he  hoped,  a  great 
Scandinavian  kingdom  encircling  the  Baltic,  and 
with  fleets  as  powerful  as  her  armies,  it  may  well 
be  that  the  fame  and  terror  of  the  Swedish  name 
would  have  insured  peace  and  prosperity  to  the 
transatlantic  Swedish  colonists.  Had  the  Dutch 
fleets  been  but  a  trifle  stronger,  and  had  the  Dutch 
diplomats  prized  Manhattan  as  they  prized  Java, 
the  New  Netherlands  might  never  have  become 
New  York.  It  seemed,  and  was,  perfectly  possi- 
ble in  the  seventeenth  century,  that  the  nineteenth 
would  see  flourishing  Dutch  and  Swedish  states 
firmly  seated  along  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware, 
exactly  as  a  thriving  French  commonwealth  ac- 
tually is  seated  along  the  lower  St.  Lawrence. 


First  Settlement  5 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  English  colonists 
and  their  American  descendants  not  only  had  to 
tame  a  wild  and  stubborn  continent,  and  ever  to 
drive  back  from  before  their  advance  the  doomed 
tribesmen  of  the  forest  and  prairie,  but  also  had 
to  wrest  many  of  the  fairest  portions  of  the  domain 
which  the  English-speaking  Americans  inherit, 
from  the  hands  of  other  intruders  of  European 
blood.  Many  of  the  cities  of  the  Union  bear  tes- 
timony by  their  early  history  to  this  fact.  Al- 
bany, Detroit,  and  Santa  Fe"  are  but  three  out  of 
many  towns  wherein  the  English  reaped  what  the 
Dutch,  the  French,  or  the  Spaniards  had  sown. 

The  history  of  New  York  deserves  to  be  studied 
for  more  than  one  reason.  It  is  the  history  of  the 
largest  English-speaking  city  which  the  English 
conquered  but  did  not  found,  and  in  which  though 
the  English  law  and  governmental  system  have 
ever  been  supreme,  yet  the  bulk  of  the  population, 
composed  as  it  is  and  ever  has  been  of  many  shift- 
ing strains,  has  never  been  English.  Again,  for 
the  past  hundred  years,  it  is  the  history  of  a  won- 
derfully prosperous  trading-city,  the  largest  in  the 
world  in  which  the  democratic  plan  has  ever  been 
faithfully  tried  for  so  long  a  time ;  and  the  trial, 
made  under  some  exceptional  advantages  and 
some  equally  exceptional  disadvantages,  is  of 
immense  interest,  alike  for  the  measure  in  which 


6  New  York 

it  has  succeeded  and  for  the  measure  in  which  it 
has  failed. 

Hudson,  on  coming  to  the  river  to  which  his 
name  was  afterward  given,  did  not  at  first  know 
that  it  was  a  river  at  all;  he  believed  and  hoped 
that  it  was  some  great  arm  of  the  sea,  that  in  fact 
it  was  the  Northwest  Passage  to  India,  which  he 
and  so  many  other  brave  men  died  in  vainly  trying 
to  discover.  For  a  week  he  lay  in  the  lower  bay, 
and  then  for  a  day  shifted  his  anchorage  into  what 
is  now  New  York  Harbor ;  his  boats  explored  the 
surrounding  shore-line,  and  found  many  Indian 
villages,  for  the  neighborhood  seemed  well  peopled. 
The  savages  flocked  to  see  the  white  strangers,  and 
eagerly  traded  off  their  tobacco  for  the  knives  and 
beads  of  the  Europeans.  Of  course  occasions  of 
quarrel  were  certain  to  arise  between  the  rough, 
brutal  sailors  and  the  fickle,  suspicious,  treacher- 
ous red  men ;  and  once  a  boat's  crew  was  attacked 
by  two  canoes,  laden  with  warriors,  and  a  sailor 
was  killed  by  an  arrow  which  pierced  his  throat. 
Yet  on  the  whole  their  relations  were  friendly,  and 
the  trading  and  bartering  went  on  unchecked. 

Hudson  soon  found  that  he  was  off  the  mouth 
of  a  river,  not  a  strait ;  and  he  spent  three  weeks 
in  exploring  it,  sailing  up  till  the  shoaling  water 
warned  him  that  he  was  at  the  head  of  navigation, 
near  the  present  site  of  Albany.     He  found  many 


First  Settlement  7 

small  Indian  tribes  scattered  along  the  banks,  and 
usually  kept  on  good  terms  with  them,  presenting 
their  chiefs  with  trinkets  of  various  kinds,  and 
treating  them  for  the  first  time  to  a  taste  of  '  'fire- 
water," the  terrible  curse  of  their  race  ever  since. 
In  return  he  was  well  received  when  he  visited  the 
bark  wigwams,  his  hosts  holding  feasts  for  him, 
where  the  dishes  included  not  only  wild  fowl,  but 
also  fat  dogs,  killed  by  the  squaws,  and  skinned 
with  mussel  shells.  The  Indians,  who  had  made 
some  progress  in  the  ruder  arts  of  agriculture, 
brought  to  the  ship  quantities  of  corn,  beans,  and 
pumpkins  from  the  great  heaps  drying  beside  their 
villages ;  and  their  fields,  yielding  so  freely  to  even 
their  poor  tillage,  bore  witness  to  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  Hudson  had  to  be  constantly  on  his 
guard  against  his  new-found  friends ;  and  once  he 
was  attacked  by  a  party  of  hostile  warriors  whom 
he  beat  off,  killing  several  of  their  number.  How- 
ever, what  far  outweighed  such  danger  in  the 
gain-greedy  eyes  of  the  trade-loving  adventurers, 
was  the  fact  that  they  saw  in  the  possession  of  the 
Indians  great  stores  of  rich  furs ;  for  the  merchants 
of  Europe  prized  furs  as  they  did  silks,  spices, 
ivory,  and  precious  metals. 

Having  reached  the  head  of  navigation  the 
Half-Moon  turned  her  bluff  bows  southward, 
and  drifted  down  stream  with  the  rapid  current 
until   she   once   more  reached    the   bay.      The 


8  New  York 

brilliant  fall  weather  had  been  varied  at  times 
with  misty  days  and  nights;  and  during  the 
Half-Moon's  inland  voyage  her  course  had  lain 
through  scenery  singularly  wild,  grand,  and  lonely. 
She  had  passed  the  long  line  of  frowning,  battle- 
mented  rock-walls  that  we  know  by  the  name 
of  the  Palisades ;  she  had  threaded  her  way  round 
the  bends  where  the  curving  river  sweeps  in 
and  out  among  bold  peaks, — Storm  King,  Crow's 
Nest,  and  their  brethren;  she  had  sailed  in  front 
of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  perhaps  even  thus  early 
in  the  season  crowned  with  shining  snow.  From 
her  decks  the  lookouts  scanned  with  their  watchful 
eyes  dim  shadowy  wastes,  stretching  for  countless 
leagues  on  every  hand;  for  all  the  land  was 
shrouded  in  one  vast  forest,  where  red  hunters 
who  had  never  seen  a  white  face  followed  wild 
beasts,  upon  whose  kind  no  white  man  had  ever 
gazed. 

Early  in  October,  Hudson  set  out  on  his  home- 
ward voyage  to  Holland,  where  the  news  of  his 
discovery  excited  much  interest  among  the  daring 
merchants,  especially  among  those  whose  minds 
were  bent  on  the  fur- trade.  Several  of  the  latter 
sent  small  ships  across  to  the  newly  found  bay  and 
river,  both  to  barter  with  the  savages  and  to 
explore  and  report  further  upon  the  country. 

The  most  noted  of  these  sea-captains  who  fol- 
lowed Hudson,  was  Adrian  Block,  who  while  at 


First  Settlement  9 

anchor  off  Manhattan  Island  lost  his  vessel  by  fire. 
He  at  once  set  about  building  another,  and  being 
a  man  of  great  resource  and  resolution,  succeeded. 
Creating  everything  for  himself,  and  working  in 
the  heart  of  the  primeval  forest,  he  built  and 
launched  a  forty-five-foot  yacht  which  he  chris- 
tened the  Onrest  (the  Restless),  fit  name  for 
the  bark  of  one  of  these  daring,  ever-roaming  ad- 
venturers. This  primitive  pioneer  vessel  was  the 
first  ever  launched  in  our  waters,  and  her  keel  was 
the  first  which  ever  furrowed  the  waters  of  the 
Sound. 

The  first  trading  and  exploring  ships  did  well, 
and  the  merchants  saw  that  great  profits  could  be 
made  from  the  Manhattan  fur- trade.  Accordingly, 
they  determined  to  establish  permanent  posts 
at  the  head  of  the  river  and  at  its  mouth.  The 
main  fort  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk,  but 
they  also  built  a  few  cabins  at  the  south  end  of 
Manhattan  Island,  and  left  therein  half  a  dozen 
of  their  employees,  with  Hendrik  Christiansen  as 
head  man  over  both  posts.  The  great  commercial 
city  of  New  York  thus  had  its  origin,  not  unfit- 
tingly, in  a  cluster  of  traders'  huts.  From  this 
obscure  beginning  was  to  spring  one  of  the 
mightiest  cities  of  any  age,  marvelous  alike  for  its 
wonderfully  rapid  growth  and  its  splendid  mate- 
rial prosperity.  From  the  outset  the  new  town, 
destined  to  be  the  largest  in  the  New  World, 


io  New  York 

mayhap  even  the  largest  in  all  the  world,  took  its 
place  among  those  communities  which  owe  their 
existence  and  growth  primarily  to  commerce,  their 
whole  character  and  development  for  good  and 
evil  being  more  profoundly  affected  by  commer- 
cial than  by  any  other  influences.  Even  in  its 
very  founding,  the  direction  in  which  the  great 
city  on  Manhattan  Island  should  develop  was 
foreshadowed,  and  its  course  outlined  in  advance. 
Christiansen  was  soon  killed  by  an  Indian.  For 
two  or  three  years  his  fellow-traders  lived  on 
Manhattan  Island  much  in  the  same  way  as  men 
now  live  at  the  remoter  outposts  of  the  fur-trade 
in  the  far  northwest  of  this  continent.  Some  kept 
decent  and  straight ;  others  grew  almost  as  squalid 
and  savage  as  the  red  men  in  whose  midst  they 
lived.  They  hunted,  fished,  and  idled;  some- 
times they  killed  their  own  game,  sometimes 
they  got  it  by  barter  from  the  Indians,  to- 
gether with  tobacco  and  corn.  Now  and  then  they 
quarreled  with  the  surrounding  savages,  but  gen- 
erally they  kept  on  good  terms  with  them ;  and  in 
exchange  for  rum  and  trinkets  they  gathered  in- 
numerable bales  of  valuable  furs, — mostly  of  the 
beaver,  which  swarmed  in  all  the  streams,  but  also 
of  otter,  and  of  the  many  more  northern  kinds, 
such  as  the  sable  and  the  fisher.  At  long  intervals 
these  furs  were  piled  in  the  holds  of  the  three  or 
four  small  vessels  whose  yearly  or  half  yearly 


First  Settlement  11 

arrival  from  Holland  formed  the  chief  relief  to 
the  monotony  of  the  fur-traders'  existence. 

The  merchants  who  first  sent  over  vessels  and 
built  a  trading-post,  joined  with  others  to  form 
the  "New  Netherland  Company";  for  it  was  a 
time  when  settlement  and  conquest  were  under- 
taken more  often  by  great  trading  companies  than 
by  either  the  national  government  or  by  individ- 
uals. The  Netherlands  government  granted  this 
company  the  monopoly  of  the  fur-trade  with  the 
newly  discovered  territory  for  three  years  from 
1615,  and  renewed  the  grant  for  a  year  at  a  time 
until  162 1,  when  it  was  allowed  to  lapse,  a  more 
powerful  competitor  being  in  the  field.  The  com- 
pany was  a  mere  trading  corporation,  and  made 
no  effort  to  really  settle  the  land ;  but  the  fur-trade 
proved  profitable,  and  the  post  on  Manhattan 
Island  was  continued,  while  another  was  built 
near  the  head  of  the  Hudson,  close  to  the  present 
site  of  Albany. 

In  162 1,  the  great  West  India  Company  was 
chartered  by  the  States-general,  and  given  the 
monopoly  of  the  American  trade ;  and  it  was  by 
this  company  that  the  city  was  really  founded,  the 
first  settlement  being  made  which  was  intended 
to  be  permanent.  All  the  magnificent  territory 
discovered  by  Hudson  was  granted  it  under  the 
name  of  the  New  Netherlands.  The  company  was 
one  of  the  three  or  four  huge  commercial  corpora- 


12  New  York 

tions  of  imperial  power  that  played  no  small  part 
in  shaping  the  world's  destiny  during  the  two  cen- 
turies immediately  preceding  the  present.  It  was 
in  its  constitution  and  history  archetypical  of  the 
time.  The  great  trading-city  of  America  was 
really  founded  by  no  one  individual,  nor  yet  by 
any  national  government,  but  by  a  great  trading 
corporation,  created  however  to  fight  and  to  bear 
rule  no  less  than  to  carry  on  commerce.  The 
merchants  who  formed  the  West  India  Company 
were  granted  the  right  to  exercise  powers  such 
as  belong  to  sovereign  States,  because  the  task  to 
which  they  set  themselves  was  one  of  such  incred- 
ible magnitude  and  danger  that  it  could  be  done 
only  on  such  terms.  They  were  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors no  less  than  traders ;  it  was  only  merchants  of 
iron  will  and  restless  daring  who  could  reap  the 
golden  harvests  in  those  perilous  sea-fields,  where 
all  save  the  strongest  surely  perished.  The  paths 
of  commerce  were  no  less  dangerous  than  those 
of  war. 

The  West  India  Company  was  formed  for  trade, 
and  for  peopling  the  world's  waste  spaces:  and  it 
was  also  formed  to  carry  on  fierce  war  against  the 
public  enemy,  the  King  of  Spain.  It  made  war 
or  peace  as  best  suited  it;  it  gave  governors  and 
judges  to  colonies  and  to  conquered  lands;  it 
founded  cities,  and  built  forts ;  and  it  hired  mighty 
admirals  to  lead  to  battle  and  plunder,  the  ships  of 


First  Settlement  13 

its  many  fleets.  Some  of  the  most  successful  and 
heroic  feats  of  arms  in  the  history  of  the  Nether- 
lands were  performed  by  the  sailors  in  the  pay  of 
this  company ;  steel  in  their  hands  brought  greater 
profit  than  gold;  and  the  fortunate  stockholders 
of  Amsterdam  and  Zealand  received  enormous 
dividends  from  the  sale  of  the  spoil  of  the  sacked 
cities  of  Brazil,  and  of  the  captured  treasure-ships 
which  had  once  formed  part  of  the  Spanish  *  'silver 
fleet." 

In  the  midst  of  this  turmoil  of  fighting  and  trad- 
ing, the  company  had  little  time  to  think  of  colo- 
nizing. Nevertheless,  in  1624  some  families  of 
protestant  Walloons  were  sent  to  the  Hudson  in 
the  ship  New  Netherland  a  few  of  them  staying 
on  Manhattan  Island.  The  following  summer  sev- 
eral more  families  arrived,  and  the  city  may  be 
said  to  have  been  really  founded,  the  dwellers  on 
Manhattan  Island  after  that  date  including  per- 
manent settlers  besides  the  mere  transient  fur- 
traders.  Finally  in  May,  1626,  the  director,  Peter 
Minuit,  a  Westphalian,  appointed  by  the  company 
as  first  governor  of  the  colony,  arrived  in  the  har- 
bor in  his  ship  the  Sea-Mew,  leading  a  band  of 
true  colonists, — men  who  brought  with  them  their 
wives  and  little  ones,  their  cattle  and  their  house- 
hold goods,  and  who  settled  down  in  the  land  with 
the  purpose  of  holding  it  for  themselves  and  for 
their  children's  children. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DUTCH  TOWN  UNDER  THE  FIRST  THREE 
DIRECTORS.       1626-1647. 

WITH  the  arrival  of  Director  Minuit,  the 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson 
first  took  on  permanent  form  and  be- 
came an  organized  community.  He  bought 
Manhattan  Island  from  its  Indian  owners  for  the 
sum  of  sixty  guilders,  or  about  twenty-four  dol- 
lars, and  during  the  summer  founded  thereon  a 
little  town,  christened  New  Amsterdam.  It  soon 
grew  to  contain  some  two  hundred  souls.  Even 
at  the  beginning,  the  population  was  composed 
of  peoples  diverse  in  race  and  speech;  not  only 
were  there  Dutchmen  and  Walloons,  but  also 
even  thus  early  a  few  Huguenots,  Germans,  and 
Englishmen. 

The  island  was  then  a  mass  of  tangled,  frowning 
forest,  fringed  with  melancholy  marshes,  which 
near  the  present  site  of  Canal  Street  approached 
so  close  together  from  either  side  that  they  almost 
made  another  small  island  of  the  southern  end. 
The  settlers  staked  out  a  fort  on  the  southernmost 
point,  and  huddled  near  it  in  their  squalid  huts; 
while  they  closely  watched  their  cattle,  which 
were  in  imminent  danger  from  wolves,  bears,  and 

14 


The  Dutch  Town  15 

panthers  whenever  they  strayed  into  the  wood- 
land. 

Minuit  was  a  kindly  man,  of  firm  temper,  much 
energy,  and  considerable  executive  capacity;  on 
the  whole  he  was  by  far  the  best  of  the  four  direc- 
tors who  successively  ruled  the  city  and  colony 
during  the  forty  years  of  the  Dutch  supremacy. 
But  the  scheme  of  colonization  was  defective  in 
more  than  one  vital  particular.  The  settlement 
was  undertaken  primarily  in  the  interest  of  a  great 
commercial  corporation,  and  only  secondarily  in 
the  interests  of  the  settlers  themselves.  The 
world  had  not  yet  grasped  the  fact  that  those  who 
went  abroad  to  build  mighty  States  in  far-off  lands 
ought  by  rights  to  be  themselves  the  main  benefi- 
ciaries of  their  toil  and  peril.  A  colony  was  con- 
sidered as  being  established  chiefly  for  the  good 
of  the  colonists. 

The  West  India  Company  wished  well  to  its 
settlers,  who  were  granted  complete  religious 
freedom,  and  in  practice  a  very  considerable 
amount  of  civil  liberty  likewise;  but  after 
all,  the  company  held  that  the  first  duty  of 
the  New  Netherlands  colony  was  to  return  large 
dividends  to  the  company's  stockholders,  and 
especially  to  advance  the  worldly  welfare  of  the 
company's  most  influential  directors.  It  sought 
to  establish  a  chain  of  trading-posts  which  should 
bring  great  wealth  to  the  mother  country,  rather 


16  New  York 

than  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  transatlantic 
nation  of  Dutch  freemen.  Hence,  the  settlers 
never  felt  a  very  fervent  loyalty  for  the  govern- 
ment under  which  they  lived,  and  in  its  moment 
of  mortal  peril  betrayed  small  inclination  to  risk 
their  lives  and  property  in  a  quarrel  which  was 
hardly  their  own. 

This  attitude  of  the  old  West  India  Company 
was  that  naturally  adopted  by  all  such  corpo- 
rations. It  was  curiously  paralleled,  even  in  our 
own  day,  by  the  way  in  which  the  great  Hudson 
Bay  Company  shut  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  Red 
River  and  the  Saskatchawan  to  all  settlement. 
It  was  a  thoroughly  unhealthy  attitude. 

Minuit  was  active  in  establishing  friendly  re- 
lations with  the  savages.  His  boats  explored  the 
neighboring  creeks  and  inlets,  and  the  Indians 
were  well  treated  whenever  they  came  to  the  little 
hamlet  on  Manhattan  Island.  In  consequence 
they  freely  brought  their  stores  of  valuable  furs 
for  barter  and  sale.  For  two  or  three  years  the 
trade  proved  profitable,  while,  from  other  causes, 
the  stock  of  the  company  rose  to  a  high  premium 
on  the  exchanges  of  Holland. 

In  1628,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  immi- 
gration, an  act  was  passed  granting  to  any  man 
who  should  bring  over  a  colony  of  fifty  souls  a 
large  tract  of  land  and  various  privileges,  with  the 
title  of  "Patroon."     These  patroons  were  really 


The  Dutch  Town  17 

great  feudal  lords,  who  farmed  out  their  vast 
estates  to  tenants  who  held  the  ground  on  various 
conditions.  Their  domains  were  often  as  large 
as  old-world  principalities;  as  an  instance,  Rens- 
selaerswyck,  the  property  of  the  Patroon  Van 
Rensselaer,  was  a  tract  containing  a  thousand 
square  miles.  The  introduction  of  this  very 
aristocratic  system  was  another  evidence  of  the 
unwisdom  of  the  governing  powers.  Moreover, 
the  patroons,  whose  extensive  privileges  were 
curtailed  in  certain  directions, — notably  in  that 
they  were  forbidden  to  enter  into  the  lucrative 
fur- trade,  the  chief  source  of  profit  to  the  com- 
pany,— soon  began  to  rebel  against  these  restric- 
tions. They  quarreled  fiercely  with  the  com- 
pany's representatives,  and  traded  on  their  own 
account  with  the  Indians ;  and  the  various  private 
traders  not  only  cut  into  the  company's  profits, 
but  also,  being  amenable  to  no  law,  soon  greatly 
demoralized  the  savages. 

The  settlers  on  Manhattan  Island  were  not 
treated  as  freemen,  but  as  the  vassals  of  the  com- 
pany. For  many  years  they  were  not  even  given 
any  title  to  the  land  on  which  they  built  their 
houses,  being  considered  simply  as  tenants  at  will. 
Minuit,  it  is  true,  chose  from  among  them  an 
advisory  council,  but  it  could  literally  only  advise, 
and  in  the  last  resort  the  company  had  absolute 
power.     The  citizens  had  certain  officers  of  their 


i8  New  York 

own,  but  they  were  powerless  in  the  event  of  any 
struggle  with  the  director.  When  the  latter  was, 
like  Minuit,  a  sensible,  well-disposed  man,  affairs 
went  well  enough,  and  the  people  were  allowed  to 
govern  themselves,  and  were  happy ;  but  a  direc- 
tor of  tyrannous  temper  always  had  it  in  his  power 
to  rule  the  colony  almost  as  if  he  were  an  absolute 
despot. 

For  six  years  Minuit  remained  in  New  Amster- 
dam, ruling  the  people  mildly,  preserving  by  a 
mixture  of  tact  and  firmness  friendly  relations 
with  the  Indians  and  with  his  English  neighbors  to 
the  eastward, — to  whom  he  sent  a  special  embassy, 
which  was  most  courteously  received, — and  keep- 
ing on  good  terms  with  the  powerful  and  haughty 
patroons.  During  these  years  the  trade  of  the 
colony  increased  and  flourished,  rich  cargoes  of 
valuable  furs  being  sent  to  Holland  in  the  home- 
ward-bound ships,  and  the  population  of  Man- 
hattan Island  gradually  grew  in  numbers  and 
wealth.  Farms  or  "boueries"  were  established; 
and  the  settlers  raised  wheat,  rye,  buckwheat, 
flax,  and  beans,  while  their  herds  and  flocks  throve 
apace.  The  company  soon  built  a  mill,  a  brewery, 
ja.  bakery,  and  great  warehouses,  and  society  began 
to  gain  some  of  the  more  essential  comforts  of 
civilization.  Nevertheless,  the  company  quar- 
reled with  Minuit.  He  was  accused  of  unduly 
favoring  the  patroons,  whose  private  ventures  in 


The  Dutch  Town  19 

the  fur-trade  were  encroaching  upon  the  com- 
pany's profits,  and  moreover  he  had  been  drawn 
into  a  scheme  of  ship-building,  which  though  suc- 
cessful,— a  very  large  and  fine  ship  being  built  and 
launched  in  the  bay, — nevertheless  proved  much 
too  expensive  for  the  taste  of  his  employers.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  was  recalled ;  and  later  on,  deeming 
himself  to  have  been  ill-treated,  he  took  service 
under  the  Swedish  queen. 

His  successor  was  Wouter  Van  Twiller,  who 
reached  New  Amsterdam  early  in  1633.  Van 
Twiller  was  a  good-natured,  corpulent,  wine- 
bibbing  Dutchman,  loose  of  life,  and  not  over- 
strict  in  principle,  and  with  a  slow,  irresolute  mind. 
However,  as  he  was  an  easy-going  man  his  rule 
did  not  bear  hardly  on  the  colonists,  while  he  won 
for  himself  an  honorable  reputation  by  devoting 
much  of  his  time  to  the  construction  of  public 
buildings.  Thus,  he  made  a  new  fort  of  earthen 
banks  with  stone  bastions,  enclosing  within  its 
walls  not  only  the  soldiers'  barracks,  but  also  at 
first  the  governmental  residence  and  public  offices ; 
he  also  built  several  windmills  and  the  first  church 
which  was  used  solely  as  such,  as  well  as  houses 
for  the  dominie  and  for  the  schout-fiscaL  The 
latter  was  the  most  important  of  the  local  officers ; 
he  possessed  curious  and  extensive  powers,  being 
the  chief  executive  of  the  local  government,  and 
answering  roughly  to  both  the  English  sheriff  and 


20 


New  York 


town  constable,  though  with  a  far  wider  and  more 
complicated  range  of  duties.  The  colony  had  at 
this  time  received  two  important  additions  in 
the  shape  of  the  first  schoolmaster — who  failed 
ingloriously  in  his  vocation,  and  then  tried  to  eke 
out  his  scanty  salary  by  taking  in  washing, — and 
the  first  regular  clergyman.  The  clergyman. 
Dominie  Bogardus,  was  a  man  of  mark  and  of 
high  character,  though  his  hot  temper  made  him 
unpopular. 

Van  Twiller  kept  on  fairly  friendly  terms  with 
the  Indians,  though  causes  of  quarrel  between  the 
settlers  and  the  savages  were  constantly  arising. 
Plenty  of  wrong  was  done  on  each  side,  and  it 
would  be  hard  to  say  where  the  original  ground 
of  offense  lay.  Probably  the  whites  could  not 
have  avoided  a  war  in  the  end ;  but  they  certainly 
by  their  recklessness  and  brutality  did  all  in  their 
power  to  provoke  the  already  suspicious  and 
treacherous  red  men.  The  history  of  the  dealings 
of  the  Dutch  with  the  Indians  is  not  pleasant 
reading. 

Under  Van  Twiller  there  were  endless  troubles 
with  the  English.  Both  England  and  Holland 
claimed  the  country  from  the  Connecticut  to  the 
Delaware,  each  wishing  it  really  more  for  purposes 
of  trade  than  of  colonization;  and  the  quarrels 
generally  arose  over  efforts  of  rival  vessels  of  the 
two  nationalities  to  control  the  trade  with  some 


The  Dutch  Town  21 

special  band  of  savages.  In  Van  Twiller's  time 
an  English  vessel  entered,  the  Hudson  and  sailed 
to  the  head  of  navigation,  where  she  anchored  and 
began  to  barter  with  the  savages  for  their  furs; 
whereupon  the  Dutch  soldiers  from  the  neighbor- 
ing fort  fell  upon  her  and  drove  her  off,  confiscat- 
ing the  furs.  At  the  same  time  Van  Twiller  built 
a  fort  and  established  a  garrison  on  the  Connecti- 
cut, threatening  to  hold  it  by  force  against  the 
English ;  but  when  the  pinch  came  the  Hollanders 
failed  to  make  their  threats  good,  and  the  Puritans 
from  Plymouth  sailed  up  the  river  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  banks  in  defiance  of  their  foes. 

Better  luck  attended  Van  Twiller's  efforts  on 
the  Delaware,  the  Cavaliers  proving  easier  to  deal 
with  than  the  Roundheads.  The  Dutch  had 
already  built  a  colony  on  this  river ;  but  the  colo- 
nists became  embroiled  with  the  Indians,  who 
fell  on  them  and  massacred  them  to  a  man.  Then 
a  party  of  Virginians  established  themselves  in 
one  of  the  deserted  Dutch  forts,  and  set  about 
founding  a  settlement  and  trading-post;  but 
when  the  news  was  brought  to  the  director  at 
New  Amsterdam,  he  promptly  despatched  a  party 
of  troops  against  the  invaders,  who  were  all  taken 
captive  and  brought  in  triumph  to  Manhattan 
Island.  Van  Twiller  hardly  knew  what  to  do 
with  them;  so  he  scolded  them  soundly  for  the 
enormity  of  their  offense  in  trespassing  on  Dutch 


22  New  York 

territory,  and  then  shipped  them  back  to  Virginia 
again.  The  internal  affairs  of  the  colony  went  more 
smoothly.  There  were  occasional  quarrels  with 
the  powerful  patroons,  but  the  director  was  much 
too  fond  of  his  ease,  and  of  wine  and  high  living 
to  oppress  or  rule  harshly  the  commonalty;  and 
the  value  of  the  trade  with  the  home  country  on 
the  whole  increased,  though  it  never  became  suf- 
ficient to  make  the  company  take  very  much 
thought  for  its  new  possession.  But  Van  Twiller 
though  easy-going  to  the  people  was  not  an  honest 
or  faithful  servant  to  the  company  in  matters 
financial;  and  in  1637  he  was  removed  from  his 
office  on  the  charge  of  having  diverted  the  moneys 
of  the  corporation  to  his  own  private  use. 

His  successor,  Wilhelm  Kieft,  was  much  the 
worst  of  the  four  Dutch  governors.  Unlike  his 
predecessor,  he  was  industrious  and  temperate; 
but  he  possessed  no  talent  whatever  for  managing 
men,  and  had  the  mean,  cruel  temper  of  a  petty 
despot.  His  mercantile  reputation  was  also  none 
of  the  best;  though  during  his  administration  he 
himself  kept  reasonably  clear  of  financial  scandals. 
In  fact,  the  West  India  Company  was  tired  of  a 
colony  which  proved  a  drain  on  its  revenue  rather 
than  a  source  of  profit ;  and  any  second-rate  man, 
who  bade  fair  not  to  trouble  the  people  at  home, 
was  deemed  good  enough  to  be  governor  of  such 
an  unpromising  spot. 


The  Dutch  Town  23 

Kieft  found  the  New  Netherlands  in  a  far 
from  flourishing  condition.  The  Dutch  colonists, 
though  stubborn  and  resolute,  were  somewhat 
sluggish  and  heavy  tempered,  without  the  restless 
energy  of  their  far  more  numerous  and  ever- 
encroaching  neighbors  on  the  east  (the  New  Eng- 
landers),  and  lacking  the  intense  desire  for  what 
was  almost  mere  adventure,  which  drove  the 
French  hither  and  thither  through  the  far-off 
wilderness.  Population  had  increased  but  slowly, 
and  the  town  which  huddled  round  the  fort  on  the 
south  point  of  Manhattan  Island  was  still  little 
more  than  a  collection  of  poor  hovels.  The  Hol- 
landers were  traders  and  seafarers,  and  they  found 
it  hard  to  settle  down  into  farmers,  who  alone  can 
make  permanent  colonists.  Moreover,  at  the 
outset  they  were  naturally  unable  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  special  and  peculiar  needs  of  their 
condition.  The  frontier  and  frontier  life  date 
back  to  the  days  when  the  first  little  struggling 
settlements  were  dotted  down  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  as  islets  in  a  waste  of  savagery ;  but  it 
always  took  at  least  a  generation  effectively  to 
transform  a  European  colonist  into  an  American 
frontiersman.  Thus  the  early  Dutch  settlers  took 
slowly  and  with  reluctance  to  that  all-important 
tool  and  weapon  of  the  American  pioneer,  the  axe, 
and  chopped  down  very  little  timber  indeed.  As 
a  consequence,  they  lived  in  dugouts  or  cabins  of 


24  New  York 

bark  and  poles,  lacking  the  knowledge  to  build 
the  log  huts,  which  always  formed  the  first  and 
characteristic  dwellings  of  the  true  backwoods- 
men. It  was  a  good  many  years  before  the  back- 
woods type,  so  characteristically  American,  had 
opportunity  to  develop. 

Kieft  was  not  well  pleased  with  the  colony,  and 
the  colony  was  still  less  pleased  with  Kieft.  From 
the  beginning  he  took  the  tone  of  a  tyrant,  treating 
the  colonists  as  his  subjects.  He  appointed  as 
council  but  one  man,  a  Huguenot  of  good  repute, 
named  La  Montagne,  and  then,  to  prevent  all 
danger  of  a  tie,  decreed  that  La  Montagne  should 
have  but  one  vote  and  he  himself  two.  He  then 
filled  the  different  local  offices  with  his  own  flatter- 
ers and  sycophants,  and  proceeded  to  govern  by 
a  series  of  edicts,  which  were  posted  on  the  trees, 
barns,  and  fences;  some  of  them,  such  as  those 
forbidding  the  sale  of  firearms  and  gunpowder  to 
the  Indians,  were  good;  while  great  discontent 
was  excited  by  others,  such  as  the  sumptuary  laws 
(for  he  made  a  bold  attempt  to  stop  the  drinking 
and  carousing  of  the  mirth-loving  settlers),  the 
establishing  of  a  passport  system,  and  the  inter- 
ference with  private  affairs  by  settling  when  people 
should  go  to  bed,  laborers  go  to  work,  and  the  like. 
The  Dutch  were  essentially  free  and  liberty  loving, 
and  accustomed  to  considerable  self-government; 
and  the  Manhattan  colonists  felt  that  they  were 


The  Dutch  Town  25 

unjustly  discriminated  against,  and  chafed  under 
the  petty  tyranny  to  which  they  were  exposed. 

However,  under  Kieft  the  appearance  of  the 
town  was  much  improved.  Streets  began  to  be 
laid  out,  and  a  better  class  of  private  houses  sprang 
up,  while  a  new  church  and  the  first  tavern — a 
great  clumsy  inn,  the  property  of  the  company — 
were  built,  and  the  farms  made  good  progress, 
fruit-trees  being  planted  and  fine  cattle  imported. 
New  settlements  were  made  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  Sound,  on  Staten  Island,  and  on 
what  is  now  the  Jersey  shore.  The  company 
made  great  efforts  further  to  encourage  immi- 
gration, allowing  many  privileges  to  the  poorer 
class  of  immigrants,  and  continuing,  in  diminished 
form,  some  of  the  exceptional  advantages  granted 
to  the  rich  men  who  should  form  small  colonies. 
The  colonists  received  the  right  to  manufacture, 
hitherto  denied  them;  but,  unfortunately,  the 
hereditary  privileges  of  the  patroons  were  con- 
tinued, including  their  right  of  feudal  jurisdiction, 
and  the  exclusive  right  to  hunt,  fish,  fowl,  and 
grind  corn  on  their  vast  estates.  The  leader  in 
pushing  these  new  settlements,  and  one  of  the 
most  attractive  figures  in  our  early  colonial  his- 
tory, was  the  Patroon  de  Vries,  a  handsome,  gal- 
lant, adventurous  man,  of  brave  and  generous 
nature.  He  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  Indians, 
to  whom  he  was  always  both  firm  and  kind ;  and 


26  New  York 

the  settlers  likewise  loved  and  respected  him,  for 
he  never  trespassed  on  their  rights,  and  was  their 
leader  in  every  work  of  danger,  whether  in 
exploring  strange  coasts  or  in  fronting  human  foes. 

Besides  the  Dutch  immigrants,  many  others  of 
different  nationalities  came  in,  particularly  Eng- 
lish from  the  New  England  colonies;  and  all, 
upon  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  were  treated 
exactly  alike.  There  was  almost  complete  relig- 
ious toleration,  and  hence  many  Baptists  and 
Quakers  took  refuge  among  the  Hollanders,  fleeing 
from  the  persecutions  of  the  Puritans. 

All  this  time  there  was  continual  squabbling 
with  the  neighboring  and  rival  settlements  of 
European  powers.  A  large  body  of  Swedes,  under 
Minuit,  arrived  at  and  claimed  the  ownership  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Delaware,  bidding  defiance  to  the 
threats  the  Dutch  made  that  they  would  oust 
them ;  while  the  English,  in  spite  of  many  protests, 
took  final  possession  of  the  Connecticut  valley  and 
the  eastern  half  of  Long  Island.  But  the  distin- 
guishing feature  of  Kieft's  administration  was 
the  succession  of  bloody  Indian  struggles  waged 
between  1640  and  1645. 

For  these  wars  Kieft  himself  was  mainly  re- 
sponsible, though  the  settlers  and  savages  were 
already  irritated  with  each  other.  Occasional 
murders  and  outrages  were  committed  by  each 
side.     The  Indians  became  alarmed  at  the  increase 


The  Dutch  Town  27 

in  numbers  of  the  whites,  and  the  whites  became 
tired  of  having  a  horde  of  lazy,  filthy,  cruel  beg- 
gars always  crowding  into  their  houses,  killing 
their  cattle,  and  by  their  very  presence  threatening 
their  families.  A  strong  and  discreet  man  might 
have  preserved  peace;  but  Kieft  was  rash,  cruel, 
and  irresolute,  and  precipitated  the  contest  by 
ordering  a  brutal  vengeance  to  be  taken  on  the 
Raritan  tribe  for  a  wrong  which  they  probably 
had  not  committed.  They  of  course  retaliated  in 
kind,  and  there  followed  a  series  of  struggles, 
separated  by  short  periods  of  patched-up  truce. 
Kieft  took  care  to  keep  shut  up  in  the  fort,  away 
from  all  possible  harm,  whereat  the  settlers  mur- 
mured greatly.  All  their  wisest  and  best  men, 
including  the  Patroon  de  Vries,  the  councilman 
La  Montagne,  and  Dominie  Bogardus,  protested 
against  his  course  in  bringing  on  the  war. 

Early  in  1643,  he  caused  by  his  orders,  one  of 
the  most  horrible  massacres  by  which  our  annals 
have  ever  been  disgraced.  The  dreaded  Mohawks 
had  made  a  sudden  foray  on  the  River  Indians, 
who,  like  the  other  neighboring  tribes,  were  Algon- 
quins ;  and  the  latter,  fleeing  in  terror  from  their 
adversaries,  took  refuge  close  to  the  wooden  walls 
of'  New  Amsterdam,  where  they  were  at  first 
kindly  received.  On  Shrovetide  night,  Kieft,  with 
a  hideous  and  almost  inconceivable  barbarity  and 
treachery,  as  short-sighted  as  it  was  cowardly, 


28  New  York 

caused  bodies  of  troops  to  fall  on  two  parties  of 
these  helpless  and  unsuspecting  fugitives,  and 
butchered  over  a  hundred. 

This  inhuman  outrage  at  once  roused  every 
Indian  to  take  a  terrible  vengeance,  and  to  wipe 
out  his  wrongs  in  fire  and  blood.  All  the  tribes 
fell  on  the  Dutch  at  once,  and  in  a  short  time 
destroyed  every  outlying  farm  and  all  the  smaller 
settlements,  bringing  ruin  and  desolation  upon 
the  entire  province,  while  the  surviving  settlers 
gathered  in  New  Amsterdam  and  in  a  few  of  the 
best  fortified  smaller  villages.  The  Indians  put 
their  prisoners  to  death  with  dreadful  tortures, 
and  in  at  least  one  instance  the  Dutch  retaliated 
in  kind.  Neither  side  spared  the  women  and 
children.  The  hemmed-in  Dutch  sent  bands  of 
their  soldiers,  assisted  by  parties  of  New  England 
mercenaries,  under  a  famous  woodland  fighter, 
Capt.  John  Underhill,  against  the  Indian  towns. 
They  were  enabled  to  strike  crippling  blows  at 
their  enemies,  because  the  latter  foolishly  clung 
to  their  stockaded  villages,  where  the  whites  could 
surround  them,  keep  them  from  breaking  out  by 
means  of  their  superiority  in  firearms,  and  then 
set  the  wooden  huts  aflame  and  mercilessly  de- 
stroy, with  torch  or  bullet,  all  the  inmates,  some- 
times to  the  number  of  several  hundred  souls. 
These  Indian  stockades  offered  the  best  means  of 
defense  against  rival  savages;  but  they  were  no 


The  Dutch  Town  29 

protection  against  the  whites,  who,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  much  inferior  to  the  red  men  in  battle 
in  the  open  forest.  At  first  the  Indians  did  not 
understand  this ;  and  in  their  ignorance  they  per- 
sisted in  fighting  their  new  foes  in  the  very  way 
that  gave  the  latter  most  advantage.  It  was  in 
consequence  of  this  that  the  seventeenth-century 
Algonquins  suffered  not  a  few  slaughtering  defeats 
at  the  hands  of  the  New  Englanders  and  New 
Netherlanders. 

Finally,  crippled  and  exhausted,  both  sides  were 
glad  to  make  peace ;  and  the  whites  again  spread 
out  to  their  ruined  farms.  In  his  dire  need  Kieft 
had  summoned  a  popular  meeting  and  chosen 
from  among  the  heads  of  families  a  council  of 
twelve  men  to  advise  him  in  the  war.  This  popu- 
lar meeting  was  the  first  of  its  kind  ever  held  on 
Manhattan,  and  may  be  considered  as  the  first 
foreshadowing  of  our  whole  present  system  of 
popular  government.  The  Council  of  Twelve  at 
once  proceeded  to  protest  against  the  director's 
arbitrary  powers,  and  to  demand  increased  rights 
for  the  people,  and  a  larger  measure  of  self-govern- 
ment. Instantly  Kieft  dissolved  them ;  but  later 
on,  when  the  settlement  seemed  at  the  last  gasp, 
a  council  of  eight  was  chosen,  this  time  by  popular 
vote,  and  took  advantage  of  the  dread  of  the 
public  enemy  to  demand  the  needed  internal 
reforms.     They  protested  in  every  way  against 


30  New  York 

Kieft's  tyranny.  The  latter  would  not  yield. 
The  mutinous  spirit  became  very  strong ;  disorder, 
and  even  murder  took  place,  and  affairs  began  to 
drift  toward  anarchy.  Numerous  petitions  were 
sent  to  Holland  asking  Kieft's  removal,  and  finally 
this  was  granted.  The  harassed  colony  was  given 
a  new  director  in  the  shape  of  a  gallant  soldier 
named  Peter  Stuyvesant,  who  arrived  and  took 
possession  of  his  office  in  May,  1647. 


CHAPTER  III. 

STU  YVES  ANT  AND  THE  END  OF  DUTCH  RULE. 
1647-1664. 

GRIM  old  Stuyvesant  had  lost  a  leg  in  the 
wars.  He  wore  in  its  place  a  wooden  one, 
laced  with  silver  bands, — so  that  some  tra- 
ditions speak  of  it  as  silver.  No  other  figure  of 
Dutch,  nor  indeed  of  colonial  days,  is  so  well  re- 
membered ;  none  other  has  left  so  deep  an  impress 
on  Manhattan  history  and  tradition  as  this  whim- 
sical and  obstinate,  but  brave  and  gallant  old 
fellow,  the  kindly  tyrant  of  the  little  colony.  To 
this  day  he  stands  in  a  certain  sense  as  the  typical 
father  of  the  city. 

There  are  not  a  few  old  New  Yorkers  who 
half-humorously  pretend  still  to  believe  the 
story  which  their  forefathers  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation, — the  story  that  the 
ghost  of  Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  queer,  kindly, 
self-willed  old  dictator,  still  haunts  the  city  he 
bullied  and  loved  and  sought  to  guard,  and  at 
night  stumps  to  and  fro,  with  a  shadowy  wooden 
leg,  through  the  aisles  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  near 
the  spot  where  his  bones  lie  buried. 

Stuyvesant  was  a  man  of  strong  character, 
whose  personality  impressed  all  with  whom  he 

3< 


32  New  York 

came  in  contact.  In  many  ways  he  stood  as  a 
good  representative  of  his  class, — the  well-born 
commercial  aristocracy  of  Holland.  In  his  own 
person  he  illustrated,  only  with  marked  and  indi- 
vidual emphasis,  the  strong  and  the  weak  sides  of 
the  rich  traders,  who  knew  how  to  fight  and  rule, 
who  feared  God  and  loved  liberty,  who  held  their 
heads  high  and  sought  to  do  justice  according  to 
their  lights ;  but  whose  lights  were  often  dim,  and 
whose  understandings  were  often  harsh  and  nar- 
row. He  was  powerfully  built,  with  haughty, 
clear-cut  features  and  dark  complexion;  and  he 
always  dressed  with  scrupulous  care,  in  the  rich 
costume  then  worn  by  the  highest  people  in  his 
native  land.  He  had  proved  his  courage  on  more 
than  one  stricken  field ;  and  he  knew  how  to  show 
both  tact  and  firmness  in  dealing  with  his  foes. 
But  he  was  far  less  successful  in  dealing  with  his 
friends;  and  his  imperious  nature  better  fitted 
him  to  command  a  garrison  than  to  rule  over  a 
settlement  of  Dutch  freemen.  It  was  inevitable 
that  a  man  of  his  nature,  who  wished  to  act  justly, 
but  who  was  testy,  passionate,  and  full  of  preju- 
dices, should  arouse  much  dislike  and  resentment 
in  the  breasts  of  the  men  over  whom  he  held  sway ; 
and  these  feelings  were  greatly  intensified  by  his 
invariably  acting  on  the  assumption  that  he  knew 
best  about  their  interests,  and  had  absolute  au- 
thority to  decide  upon  them      He  always  pro- 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  33 

ceeded  on  the  theory  that  it  was  harmful  to  allow 
the  colonists  any  real  measure  of  self-government, 
and  that  what  was  given  them  was  given  as  a 
matter  of  grace,  not  as  an  act  of  right.  Hence, 
though  he  was  a  just  man,  of  sternly  upright 
character,  he  utterly  failed  to  awaken  in  the 
hearts  of  the  settlers  any  real  loyalty  to  himself 
or  to  the  government  he  represented;  and  they 
felt  no  desire  to  stand  by  him  when  he  needed 
their  help.  He  showed  his  temper  in  the  first 
speech  he  made  to  the  citizens,  when  he  addressed 
them  in  the  tone  of  an  absolute  ruler,  and  assured 
them  that  he  would  govern  them  "as  a  father 
does  his  children."  Colonists  from  a  land  with 
traditions  of  freedom,  put  down  in  the  midst  of 
surroundings  which  quicken  and  strengthen  be- 
yond measure  every  impulse  they  may  have  in  the 
direction  of  liberty,  are  of  all  human  beings  those 
least  fitted  to  appreciate  the  benefits  of  even  the 
best  of  paternal  governments. 

When  Stuyvesant  came  to  Manhattan  the  little 
Dutch  dorp  thereon  was  just  recovering  from  the 
bloody  misery  of  the  Indian  wars.  No  such 
calamities  occurred  again  to  check  and  blast  its 
growth;  and  it  may  be  said  to  have  then  fairly 
passed  out  of  the  mere  pioneer  stage.  It  was 
under  Stuyvesant  that  New  Amsterdam  became 
a  firmly  established  Dutch  colonial  town,  instead 
of  an  Indian-harried  village  outpost  of  civilization ; 
3 


34  New  York 

and  it  was  only  in  his  time  that  the  Dutch  life  took 
on  fixed  and  definite  shape.  The  first  comers 
were  generally  poor  adventurers ;  but  when  it  was 
plainly  seen  that  the  colony  was  to  be  permanent, 
many  well-to-do  people  of  good  family  came  over, 
— burghers  who  were  proud  of  their  coats-of-arms, 
and  traced  their  lineage  to  the  great  worthies  of 
the  ancient  Netherlands.  The  Dutch  formed  the 
ruling  and  the  most  numerous  class  of  inhabitants ; 
but  then,  as  now,  the  population  of  the  city  was 
very  mixed.  A  great  many  English,  both  from 
old  and  New  England,  had  come  in;  while  the 
French  Huguenots  were  still  more  plentiful, — 
and,  it  may  be  mentioned  parenthetically,  formed, 
as  everywhere  else  in  America,  without  exception 
the  most  valuable  of  all  the  immigrants.  There 
were  numbers  of  Walloons,  not  a  few  Germans, 
and  representatives  of  so  many  other  nations  that 
no  less  than  eighteen  different  languages  and  dia- 
lects were  spoken  in  the  streets.  An  ominous 
feature  was  the  abundance  of  negro  slaves, — 
uncouth  and  brutal-looking  black  savages,  brought 
by  slave-traders  and  pirates  from  the  gold  coast  of 
Africa. 

The  population  was  diverse  in  more  ways  than 
those  of  speech  and  race.  The  Europeans  who 
came  to  this  city  during  its  first  forty  years  of  life 
represented  almost  every  grade  of  old-world 
society.     Many  of  these  pioneers  were  men  of  as 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  35 

high  character  and  standing  as  ever  took  part  in 
founding  a  new  settlement ;  but  on  the  other  hand 
there  were  plenty  of  others  to  the  full  as  vicious 
and  worthless  as  the  worst  immigrants  who  have 
come  hither  during  the  present  century.  Many 
imported  bond-servants  and  apprentices,  both 
English  and  Irish,  of  criminal  or  semi-criminal 
tendencies  escaped  to  Manhattan  from  Virginia 
and  New  England,  and,  once  here,  found  congenial 
associates  from  half  the  countries  of  continental 
Europe.  There  thus  existed  from  the  start  a  low, 
shiftless,  evil  class  of  whites  in  our  population; 
while  even  beneath  their  squalid  ranks  lay  the 
herd  of  brutalized  black  slaves.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  seventeenth-century  New  Am- 
sterdam did  not  include  quite  as  large  a  proportion 
of  undesirable  inhabitants  as  nineteenth-century 
New  York. 

The  sharp  and  strong  contrasts  in  social  po- 
sition, the  great  differences  in  moral  and  material 
well-being,  and  the  variety  in  race,  language,  and 
religion,  all  combined  to  make  a  deep  chasm  be- 
tween life  in  New  Amsterdam  and  life  in  the  cities 
of  New  England,  with  their  orderly  uniformity  of 
condition  and  their  theocratic  democracy. 

•Society  in  the  New  Netherlands  was  distinctly 
aristocratic.  The  highest  rank  was  composed  of 
the  great  patroons,  with  their  feudal  privileges 
and  vast  landed  estates;  next  in  order  came  the 


36  New  York 

well-to-do  merchant  burghers  of  the  town,  whose 
ships  went  to  Europe  and  Africa,  carrying  in  their 
holds  now  furs  or  rum,  now  ivory  or  slaves ;  then 
came  the  great  bulk  of  the  population, — thrifty 
souls  of  small  means,  who  worked  hard,  and  strove 
more  or  less  successfully  to  live  up  to  the  law; 
while  last  of  all  came  the  shifting,  and  intermingled 
strata  of  the  evil  and  the  weak, — the  men  of 
incurably  immoral  propensities,  and  the  poor 
whose  poverty  was  chronic.  Life  in  a  new  coun- 
try is  hard,  and  puts  a  heavy  strain  on  the  wicked 
and  the  incompetent;  but  it  offers  a  fair  chance 
to  all  comers,  and  in  the  end  those  who  deserve 
success  are  certain  to  succeed. 

It  was  under  Stuyvesant,  in  1653,  that  the  town 
was  formally  incorporated  as  a  city,  with  its  own 
local  schout  and  its  schepens  and  burgomasters 
whose  powers  and  duties  answered  roughly  to 
those  of  both  aldermen  and  justices.  The  schouts, 
schepens,  and  burgomasters  together  formed  the 
legislative  council  of  the  city ;  and  they  also  acted 
as  judges,  and  saw  to  the  execution  of  the  laws. 
There  was  an  advisory  council  as  well. 

The  struggling  days  of  pioneer  squalor  were 
over,  and  New  Amsterdam  had  taken  on  the  look 
of  a  quaint  little  Dutch  seaport  town,  with  a  touch 
of  picturesqueness  from  its  wild  surroundings. 
As  there  was  ever  menace  of  attack,  not  only  by 
the  savages  but  by  the  New  Englanders,  the  city 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  37 

needed  a  barrier  for  defense  on  the  landward  side ; 
and  so,  on  the  present  site  of  Wall  Street,  a  high, 
strong  stockade  of  upright  timbers,  with  occa- 
sional blockhouses  as  bastions,  stretched  across  the 
island.  Where  Canal  Street  now  is,  the  settlers  had 
dug  a  canal  to  connect  the  marshes  on  either  side 
of  the  neck.  There  were  many  clear  pools  and 
rivulets  of  water ;  on  the  banks  of  one  of  them  the 
girls  were  wont  to  spread  the  house  linen  they  had 
washed,  and  the  path  by  which  they  walked 
thither  gave  its  name  to  the  street  that  is  yet 
called  Maiden  Lane.  Manhattan  Island  was  still, 
for  the  most  part,  a  tangled  wilderness.  The 
wolves  wrought  such  havoc  among  the  cattle,  as 
they  grazed  loose  in  the  woods,  that  a  special 
reward  was  given  for  their  scalps,  if  taken  on 
the  island. 

The  hall  of  justice  was  in  the  stadt-huys,  a  great 
stone  building,  before  which  stood  the  high  gal- 
lows whereon  malefactors  were  executed.  Stuy- 
vesant's  own  roomy  and  picturesque  house  was 
likewise  of  stone,  and  was  known  far  and  near  as 
the  Whitehall,  finally  giving  its  name  to  the  street 
on  which  it  stood.  The  poorest  people  lived  in 
huts  on  the  outskirts;  but  the  houses  that  lined 
the  streets  of  the  town  itself  were  of  neat  and 
respectable  appearance,  being  made  of  wood,  their 
gable  ends  checkered  with  little  black  and  yellow 
bricks,  their  roofs  covered  with  tiles  or  shingles 


38  New  York 

and  surmounted  by  weather-cocks,  and  the  doors 
adorned  with  burnished  brass  knockers.  The 
shops,  wherein  were  sold  not  only  groceries,  hard- 
ware, and  the  like,  but  also  every  kind  of  rich  stuff 
brought  from  the  wealthy  cities  of  Holland,  occu- 
pied generally  the  ground  floors  of  the  houses. 
There  was  a  large,  bare  church,  a  good  public- 
school  house,  and  a  great  tavern,  with  neatly 
sanded  floor,  and  heavy  chairs  and  tables,  the  beds 
being  made  in  cupboards  in  the  thick  walls ;  and 
here  and  there  windmills  thrust  their  arms  into 
the  air,  while  the  half -moon  of  wharves  jutted  out 
into  the  river. 

The  houses  of  the  rich  were  quaint  and  com- 
fortable, with  steeply  sloping  roofs  and  crow-step 
gables.  A  wide  hall  led  through  the  middle,  from 
door  to  door,  with  rooms  on  either  side.  Every- 
thing was  solid  and  substantial,  from  the  huge, 
canopied,  four-post  bedstead  and  the  cumbrous 
cabinets,  chairs,  tables,  stools,  and  settees,  to  the 
stores  of  massive  silver  plate,  each  piece  a  rich 
heirloom,  engraved  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the 
owner.  There  were  rugs  on  the  floors,  and  cur- 
tains and  leather  hangings  on  the  walls ;  and  there 
were  tall  eight-day  clocks,  and  stiff  ancestral 
portraits.  Clumsy  carriages,  and  fat  geldings  to 
draw  them,  stood  in  a  few  of  the  stables;  and  the 
trim  gardens  were  filled  with  shrubbery,  fruit- 
trees,  and  a  wealth  of  flowers,  laid  out  in  prim 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  39 

sweet-smelling  beds,  divided  by  neatly  kept  paths. 
The  poorer  people  were  clad, — the  men  in 
blouses  or  in  jackets,  and  in  wide,  baggy  breeches ; 
the  women  in  bodices  and  short  skirts.  The 
schepens  and  other  functionaries  wore  their  black 
gowns  of  office.  The  gentry  wore  the  same  rich 
raiment  as  did  their  brethren  of  the  Old  World. 
Both  ladies  and  gentlemen  had  clothes  of  every 
stuff  and  color ;  the  former,  with  their  hair  frizzed 
and  powdered,  and  their  persons  bedecked  with 
jewelry,  their  gowns  open  in  front  to  show  the  rich 
petticoats,  their  feet  thrust  into  high-heeled  shoes, 
and  with  silk  hoods  instead  of  bonnets.  The  long 
coats  of  the  gentlemen  were  finished  with  silver 
lace  and  silver  buttons,  as  were  their  velvet  doub- 
lets, and  they  wore  knee-breeches,  black  silk 
stockings,  and  low  shoes  with  silver  buckles. 
They  were  fond  of  free  and  joyous  living ;  they 
caroused  often,  drinking  deeply  and  eating  heav- 
ily ;  and  the  young  men  and  maidens  loved  danc- 
ing parties,  picnics,  and  long  sleigh  rides  in  winter. 
There  were  great  festivals,  as  at  Christmas  and 
New  Year's.  On  the  latter  day  every  man  called 
on  all  his  friends;  and  the  former  was  then,  as 
now,  the  chief  day  of  the  year  for  the  children, 
devoted  to  the  special  service  of  Santa  Claus. 

All  through  Stuyvesant's  time  there  was  con- 
stant danger  of  trouble  with  the  Indians.  Men 
were  occasionally  killed  on  both  sides;  and  once 


40  New  York 

a  burgher  was  slain  in  the  streets  of  the  town  by  a 
party  of  red  warriors.  There  were  even  one  or 
two  ferocious  local  uprisings.  By  a  mixture  of 
tact  and  firmness,  however,  Stuyvesant  kept  the 
savages  under  partial  control,  checked  the  brutal 
and  outrage-loving  portion  of  his  own  people,  and 
prevented  any  important  or  far-reaching  out- 
break. Yet  he  found  it  necessary  to  organize 
more  than  one  campaign  against  the  red  men ;  and 
these,  though  barren  of  exciting  incident,  were 
invariably  successful,  thanks  to  his  indomitable 
energy.  By  the  exercise  of  similar  qualities,  he 
also  kept  the  ever-encroaching  New  Englanders  at 
bay;  while  in  1655  he  finished  the  long  bickerings 
with  the  Swedes  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  by 
marching  a  large  force  thither,  capturing  their 
forts,  and  definitely  taking  possession  of  the  coun- 
try,— thereby  putting  an  end  to  all  chance  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Scandinavian  State  on  Ameri- 
can soil.  Once  the  New  Englanders  on  Long 
Island  began  to  plan  a  revolt;  but  he  promptly 
seized  their  ringleaders, — including  the  Indian 
fighter,  Underhill, — fined,  imprisoned,  or  ban- 
ished them,  and  secured  temporary  tranquillity. 

From  the  outset,  Stuyvesant's  imperious  nature 
kept  him  embroiled  with  the  colonists.  In  some 
respects  this  was  well  for  the  commonwealth,  for 
in  this  way  he  finally  curbed  the  feudal  insolence 
of  the  patroons,  after  nearly  coming  to  a  civil  war 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  41 

with  the  patroon  of  Rensselaerswyck ;  but  gener- 
ally he  managed  merely  to  harass  and  worry  the 
settlers  until  they  became  so  irritated  as  to  be 
almost  mutinous.  He  struggled  hard,  not  only  to 
retain  his  own  power  as  dictator,  but  to  establish 
an  aristocratic  framework  for  the  young  society. 
With  this  end  in  view,  he  endeavored  to  introduce 
as  a  permanent  feature  the  division  of  the  burgh- 
ers into  two  classes,  minor  and  major, — the  major 
burghers'  rights  being  hereditary,  and  giving 
many  privileges,  among  others  the  sole  right  to 
hold  office.  He  failed  ignominiously  in  this,  for 
the  democratic  instincts  of  the  people,  and  the 
democratic  tendencies  of  their  surroundings, 
proved  too  strong  for  him.  He  himself  strove 
to  be  just  toward  all  men;  but  he  chose  his  per- 
sonal representatives  and  agents  without  paying 
the  least  heed  to  the  popular  estimate  in  which 
they  were  held.  In  consequence,  some  of  those 
most  obsequious  to  him  turned  out  mere  profligate, 
petty  tyrants,  to  whom,  nevertheless,  he  clung 
obstinately,  in  spite  of  all  complaints,  until  they 
had  thoroughly  disgusted  the  people  at  large. 
He  threw  his  political  opponents  into  jail  without 
trial,  or  banished  them  after  a  trial  in  which  he 
himself  sat  as  the  judge,  announcing  that  he 
deemed  it  treason  to  complain  of  the  chief  magis- 
trate, whether  with  or  without  cause ;  and  this 
naturally  threw  into  a  perfect  ferment  the  citi- 


42  New  York 

zens  of  the  popular  party,  who  were  striving  for 
more  freedom  with  an  obstinacy  as  great  as  his 
own.  Abandoning  the  policy  of  complete  reli- 
gious toleration,  he  not  only  persecuted  the 
Baptists  and  Quakers,  but  even  the  Lutherans 
also.  He  established  impost  and  excise  duties 
by  proclamation,  drawing  forth  a  most  deter- 
mined popular  protest  against  taxation  without 
representation.  When  the  city  charter  was 
granted,  he  proceeded  to  appoint  the  first  schout, 
schepen,  and  burgomasters  who  took  office  under 
it,  instead  of  allowing  them  to  be  elected  by  the 
citizens, — though  this  concession  was  afterward 
wrung  from  him.  He  was  in  perpetual  conflict 
with  the  council, — the  "Nine  Men,"  as  they  were 
termed, — who  stood  up  stoutly  for  the  popular 
rights,  and  sent  memorial  after  memorial  to  Hol- 
land, protesting  against  the  course  that  was  being 
pursued.  The  inhabitants  also  joined  in  public 
meetings,  and  in  other  popular  manifestations,  to 
denounce  the  author  of  their  grievances;  the 
Dutch  settlers,  for  the  nonce,  making  common 
cause  with  their  turbulent  New  England  neighbors 
of  the  city  and  of  Long  Island.  Stuyvesant  him- 
self sent  counter  protests ;  and  also  made  repeated 
demands  for  more  men  and  more  money,  that  he 
might  put  into  good  condition  the  crumbling  and 
ill-manned  fortifications,  which,  as  he  wrote  home, 
would  be  of  no  avail  at  all  to  resist  any  strong 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  43 

attack  that  might  be  made  by  the  ever-threaten- 
ing English.  But  the  home  government  cared  for 
its  colonies  mainly  because  they  were  profitable. 
This  Stuyvesant's  province  was  not ;  and  so,  with 
dull  apathy,  the  appeals  for  help  were  disregarded, 
and  the  director  and  the  colonists  were  left  to 
settle  their  quarrels  as  best  they  might. 

Thus,  with  ceaseless  wrangling,  with  much  of 
petty  tyranny  on  the  one  hand,  and  much  of  sullen 
grumbling  and  discontent  on  the  other,  the  years 
went  by.  Stuyvesant  rarely  did  serious  injustice 
to  any  particular  man,  and  by  his  energy,  reso- 
lution, and  executive  capacity  he  preserved  order 
at  home,  while  the  colony  grew  and  prospered  as 
it  never  had  done  before;  but  the  sturdy  and 
resolute,  though  somewhat  heavy,  freemen  over 
Whom  he  ruled,  resented  bitterly  all  his  overbear- 
ing ways  and  his  deeds  of  small  oppression,  and 
felt  only  a  lukewarm  loyalty  to  a  government  that 
evidently  deemed  them  valuable  only  in  so  far  as 
they  added  to  the  wealth  of  the  men  who  had 
stayed  at  home.  When  the  hour  of  trial  came, 
they  naturally  showed  an  almost  apathetic  indif- 
ference to  the  overthrow  of  the  rule  of  Holland. 

Whenever  the  English  and  Dutch  were  at 
war,  New  Amsterdam  was  in  a  flutter  over  the 
always-dreaded  attack  of  some  English  squadron. 
At  last,  in  1664,  the  blow  really  fell.  There  was 
peace  at  the  time  between  the  two  nations;  but 


44  New  York 

this  fact  did  not  deter  the  England  of  the  Stuarts 
from  seizing  so  helpless  a  prize  as  the  province  of 
the  New  Netherlands.  The  English  Government 
knew  well  how  defenseless  the  country  was;  and 
the  king  and  his  ministers  determined  to  take  it 
by  a  sudden  stroke  of  perfectly  cold-blooded 
treachery,  making  all  their  preparations  in  secret 
and  meanwhile  doing  everything  they  could  to 
deceive  the  friendly  power  at  which  the  blow  was 
aimed.  Stuyvesant  had  continued  without  ces- 
sation to  beseech  the  home  government  that  he 
might  be  given  the  means  to  defend  the  province ; 
but  his  appeals  were  unheeded  by  his  profit-loving, 
money-getting  superiors  in  Holland.  He  was  left 
with  insignificant  defenses,  guarded  by  an  utterly 
insufficient  force  of  troops.  The  unblushing 
treachery  and  deceit  by  which  the  English  took 
the  city  made  the  victory  of  small  credit  to  them ; 
but  the  Dutch,  by  their  supine,  short-sighted 
selfishness  and  greed,  were  put  in  an  even  less 
enviable  light. 

In  September,  1664,  three  or  four  English  frig- 
ates, and  a  force  of  several  hundred  land-troops 
under  Col.  Richard  Nicolls  suddenly  appeared  in 
the  harbor.  They  were  speedily  joined  by  the 
levies  of  the  already  insurgent  New  Englanders  of 
Long  Island.  Nicolls  had  an  overpowering  force, 
and  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  decision.  He 
forthwith  demanded  the  immediate  surrender  of 


End  of  Dutch  Rule  45 

the  city  and  province.  Stuyvesant  wished  to  fight 
even  against  such  odds;  but  the  citizens  refused 
to  stand  by  him,  and  New  Amsterdam  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  English  without  a  gun  being  fired 
in  its  defense. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NEW  AMSTERDAM   BECOMES   NEW  YORK.      THE   BE- 
GINNING OF  ENGLISH  RULE.       1664-1674. 

THE  expedition  against  New  Amsterdam 
had  been  organized  with  the  Duke  of 
York,  afterward  King  James  II.,  as  its 
special  patron,  and  the  city  was  rechristened  in 
his  honor.  To  this  day  its  name  perpetuates  the 
memory  of  the  dull,  cruel  bigot  with  whose  short 
reign  came  to  a  close  the  ignoble  line  of  the  Stuart 
kings. 

With  Manhattan  Island  all  the  province  of  the 
New  Netherlands  passed  under  the  English  rule; 
and  the  arrogant  red  flag  fluttered  without  a  rival 
along  the  whole  seaboard  from  Acadia  to  Florida. 
Yet  the  settlements  were  still  merely  little  dots  in 
the  vast  wooded  wilderness  which  covered  all  the 
known  portions  of  the  continent.  They  were 
strung  at  wide  intervals  along  the  seacoast,  or 
the  courses  of  the  mighty  rivers,  separated  one 
from  another  by  the  endless  stretches  of  gloomy, 
Indian-haunted  woodland.  Every  step  in  the 
forest  was  fraught  with  danger.  The  farms  still 
lay  close  to  the  scattered  hamlets,  and  the  latter 
in  turn  clung  to  the  edges  of  the  navigable  waters, 
where  travel  was  so  much  easier  and  safer  than  on 

46 


Beginning  of  English  Rule         47 

land.  New  Amsterdam,  when  its  existence  as  such 
ceased,  held  some  fifteen  hundred  souls  (many 
of  them  negro  slaves) ;  yet  the  sloops  that  plied 
from  thence  to  Fort  Orange, — now  Albany, — or  to 
any  other  of  the  small  river  towns,  were  obliged 
to  go  well  armed,  and  to  keep  a  keen  watch  night 
and  day  for  the  war-canoes  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  conquered  province  had  been  patented  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  and  Nicolls  acted  as  his  agent. 
The  latter  was  a  brave,  politic  man  of  generous 
nature  and  good  character,  and  he  executed  well 
the  difficult  task  allotted  him,  doing  his  best  to 
conciliate  the  colonists  by  the  justice  and  consid- 
eration with  which  he  acted,  and  at  the  same  time 
showing  that  timidity  had  no  share  in  influencing 
his  course.  By  the  terms  of  the  surrender  the 
Dutch  settlers  were  guaranteed  their  full  civil  and 
religious  rights,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  were 
gainers  rather  than  losers  by  the  change.  Their 
interests  were  as  carefully  guarded  as  were  those 
of  the  English  settlers,  their  prejudices  were  not 
shocked,  and  if  anything  they  were  allowed  greater, 
rather  than  less  privileges  in  the  way  of  self- 
government.  Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  change  was  not  so  violent  as  if  a  city 
peopled  exclusively  by  one  race  had  been  suddenly 
conquered  by  the  members  of  another.  Under 
Dutch  rule  all  foreigners  had  been  freely  natural- 
ized, and  had  been  allowed  to  do  their  share  of 


48  New  York 

administration, — for  our  city  has  always  allowed 
every  privilege  to  that  portion  of  her  citizens 
(generally  the  majority)  born  without  her  limits. 
The  Dutch  element  was  largest  among  the  wealthy 
people,  to  whom  fell  the  duty  of  exercising  such 
self-government  as  there  was ;  but  there  were  also 
plenty  of  rich  men  among  the  French  Huguenots 
and  English  settlers.  It  is  probable  that  at  least 
a  third  of  the  population,  exclusive  of  the  nume- 
rous negro  slaves,  and  inclusive  of  the  Huguenots 
was  neither  Dutch  nor  English ;  and  to  this  third 
the  change  was  of  little  moment.  The  English 
had  exercised  considerable  influence  in  the  gov- 
ernment throughout  Stuyvesant's  rule,  and  even 
before,  ranking  as  third  in  numbers  and  impor- 
tance among  the  various  elements  of  the  composite 
population;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  Dutch 
continued,  even  after  the  surrender,  to  have  a 
very  great  and  often  a  preponderant  weight  in  the 
councils  of  the  city.  The  change  was  merely  that, 
in  a  population  composed  of  several  distinct  ele- 
ments, the  one  which  had  hitherto  been  of  primary 
became  on  the  whole  of  secondary  importance; 
its  place  in  the  lead  being  usurped  by  another 
element,  which  itself  had  already  for  many  years 
occupied  a  position  of  much  prominence.  There 
was  of  course  a  good  deal  of  race-prejudice  and 
rancor;  and  the  stubborn  Dutch  clung  to  their 
language,  though  with  steadily  loosening  grasp, 


Beginning  of  English  Rule         49 

for  over  a  century.  But  the  lines  of  cleavage  in 
the  political  contests  did  not  follow  those  of  speech 
and  blood.  The  constitution  of  the  Dutch  settle- 
ment was  essentially  aristocratic;  and  the  party 
of  the  populace  was  naturally  opposed  to  the  party 
of  the  patroons  and  the  rich  merchants.  The 
settlers  who  came  from  England  direct,  belonged 
to  the  essentially  aristocratic  Established  Church. 
They  furnished  many  of  the  great  officials;  and 
many  of  the  merchants,  and  of  those  who  became 
large  landowners,  sprang  from  among  them. 
These  naturally  joined  the  aristocratic  section 
of  the  original  settlers.  On  the  other  hand  the 
New  Englanders,  who  were  of  Puritan  blood, — 
and  later  on  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  and 
Ireland, — were  the  stanchest  opponents  of  Epis- 
copacy and  aristocracy,  and  became  the  leaders 
of  the  popular  party.  Similarly,  the  Huguenots 
and  the  settlers  of  other  nationality  separated 
(though  much  less  sharply)  on  lines  of  prop- 
erty and  caste;  and  hence  the  fluctuating  line 
which  divided  the  two  camps  or  factions  was  only 
secondarily  influenced  by  considerations  of  speech 
and  nationality. 

Nicolls  made  the  necessary  changes  with  cau- 
tious slowness  and  tact.  For  nearly  a  year  the 
city  was  suffered  to  retain  its  old  form  of  govern- 
ment; then  the  schout,  schepens,  and  burgo- 
masters were  changed  for  sheriff,  aldermen 
4 


50  New  York 

mayor,  and  justices.  Vested  rights  were  inter- 
fered with  as  little  as  possible ;  the  patroons  were 
turned  into  manorial  lords;  the  Dutch  and  Hu- 
guenots were  allowed  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion;  indeed,  the  feeling  was  so  friendly  that 
for  some  time  the  Anglican  service  was  held  in  the 
Dutch  Church  in  the  afternoons.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  interfere  with  the  language  or  with 
the  social  and  business  customs  and  relations  of 
the  citizens.  Nicolls  showed  himself  far  more 
liberal  than  Stuyvesant  in  questions  of  creed; 
and  one  of  the  first  things  he  did  was  to  allow  the 
Lutherans  to  build  a  church  and  install  therein 
a  pastor  of  their  own.  He  established  a  fairly 
good  system  of  justice,  including  trial  by  jury, 
and  practically  granted  the  citizens  a  considerable 
measure  of  self-government.  But  the  fact  re- 
mained that  the  colony  had  not  gained  its  freedom 
by  changing  its  condition;  it  had  simply  ex- 
changed the  rule  of  a  company  for  the  rule  of  a 
duke.  Nicolls  himself  nominated  all  the  new 
officers  of  the  city  (choosing  them  from  among 
both  the  Dutch  and  the  English),  and  returning 
a  polite  but  firm  negative  to  the  request  of  the 
citizens  that  they  might  themselves  elect  their 
representatives.  He  pursued  the  same  course 
with  the  Puritan  Long  Islanders;  and  the  latter 
resented  his  action  even  more  bitterly  than  did 
the  Dutch. 


Beginning  of  English  Rule         51 

However,  his  tact,  generosity,  and  unfailing 
good  temper,  and  the  skill  with  which  he  kept 
order  and  secured  prosperity  endeared  him  to  the 
colonists,  even  though  they  did  at  times  just  real- 
ize that  there  was  an  iron  hand  beneath  the  velvet 
glove.  He  completely  pacified  the  Indians,  who 
during  his  term  of  command  remained  almost 
absolutely  tranquil,  for  the  first  time  in  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  He  put  down  all  criminals,  and 
sternly  repressed  the  licentiousness  of  his  own 
soldiery,  forcing  them  to  behave  well  to  the  citi- 
zens. His  honesty  in  financial  matters  was  so 
great  that  he  actually  impoverished  himself  during 
his  administration  of  the  province.  Meanwhile, 
the  city  flourished ;  for  there  was  free  trade  with 
England  and  the  English  possessions,  and  even 
for  some  time  a  restricted  right  to  trade  with 
certain  of  the  Dutch  ports. 

Nicolls  soon  wearied  of  his  position,  and  sought 
leave  to  resign ;  but  he  was  too  valuable  a  servant 
for  the  duke  to  permit  this  until  the  war  with 
Holland,  which  had  been  largely  brought  on  by 
the  treacherous  seizure  of  New  Amsterdam,  at 
length  came  to  a  close.  The  Peace  of  Breda  left 
New  York  in  the  hands  of  the  English;  for  the 
cold  northern  province,  where  now  are  States 
already  far  more  populous  than  Holland,  or  than 
the  England  of  that  day,  was  then  considered  of 
less  value  than  any  one  of  half  a  dozen  tropical 


52  New  York 

colonies.  On  both  sides  the  combatants  warred 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  possessions  which  should 
benefit  their  own  pockets,  not  to  found  States  of 
free  men  of  their  own  race ;  they  sought  to  estab- 
lish trading-posts  from  whence  to  bring  spices  and 
jewels  and  precious  metals,  rather  than  to  plant 
commonwealths  of  their  children  on  the  continents 
that  were  waiting  to  be  conquered.  The  English 
were  inclined  to  grumble,  and  the  Dutch  to 
rejoice,  because  the  former  received  New  York 
rather  than  Surinam.  As  for  Nicolls,  when  his 
hands  were  thus  freed  he  returned  home,  having 
shown  himself  a  warm  friend  to  the  colonists, 
especially  the  Dutch,  who  greatly  mourned  his 
going. 

His  successor  was  an  archetypical  cavalier 
named  Francis  Lovelace.  He  had  stood  loyally 
by  the  king  in  disaster  and  prosperity  alike,  and 
was  a  gallant,  generous,  and  honest  gentleman; 
but  he  possessed  far  less  executive  capacity  than 
his  predecessor.  However,  he  trod  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  latter  so  far  as  he  could,  and  strove 
to  advance  the  interests  of  the  city  in  every  way, 
and  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of  the  inhabitants. 
He  associated  on  intimate  terms  with  the  leading 
citizens,  whether  English,  French,  or  Dutch,  and 
established  a  social  club  which  met  at  their  dif- 
ferent houses, — all  three  languages  being  spoken 
at  the  meetings.     Being  fond  of  racing,  he  gave 


Beginning  of  English  Rule         53 

prizes  to  be  run  for  by  swift  horses  on  the  Long 
Island  race-course.  Like  his  predecessor,  his 
chief  troubles  were  with  the  hard-headed  and 
stiff-necked  children  of  the  Puritans  on  Long 
Island.  When  he  attempted  to  tax  them  to  build 
up  the  fort  on  Manhattan,  they  stoutly  refused, 
and  sent  him  an  indignant  protest;  while  on  the 
other  hand  he  was  warmly  supported  by  his  Dutch 
and  English  councilors  in  New  York.  With  the 
Indians  he  kept  on  good  terms. 

The  city  prospered  under  Lovelace  as  it  had 
prospered  under  Nicolls.  Its  proprietor,  the 
Duke  of  York,  was  a  mean  and  foolish  tyrant ;  but 
it  was  for  his  interest  while  he  was  not  king  to 
treat  his  colony  well.  Though  an  intolerant  reli- 
gious bigot,  he  yet  became  perforce  an  advocate 
of  religious  tolerance  for  New  York,  because  his 
own  creed,  Roman  Catholicism,  was  weak,  and 
the  hope  of  the  feeble  never  rests  in  persecution. 
New  York  was  thus  permitted  to  grow  in  peace, 
and  to  take  advantage  of  her  great  natural 
resources.  Trade  increased  and  ships  were  built ; 
while  in  addition  to  commerce,  many  of  the  sea- 
faring folk  took  to  the  cod  and  whale  fisheries, 
which  had  just  been  started  off  the  coasts.  The 
whales  were  very  plentiful,  and  indeed  several 
were  killed  in  the  harbor  itself.  The  merchants 
began  to  hold  weekly  meetings,  thus  laying  the 
foundation   for  the   New   York   Exchange;  and 


54  New  York 

wealth  increased  among  all  classes,  bringing  com- 
fort, and  even  some  attempt  at  luxury,  in  its  train. 

This  quick  and  steady  growth  in  material  pros- 
perity was  rudely  checked  by  the  fierce  war  which 
again  broke  out  between  England  and  Holland. 
Commerce  was  nearly  paralyzed  by  the  depre- 
dations of  the  privateers,  and  many  of  the  mer- 
chants were  brought  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy, 
while  the  public  distress  was  widespread.  It  was 
known  that  the  Dutch  meditated  an  effort  to 
recapture  the  city;  and  Lovelace  made  what 
preparations  he  could  for  defense.  He  busied 
himself  greatly  to  establish  a  regular  mail  to 
Boston  and  Hartford,  so  that  there  might  be 
overland  communication  with  his  eastern  neigh- 
bors; and  it  was  on  one  of  his  absences  in  New 
England  that  the  city  was  recaptured  by  its 
former  owners. 

In  July,  1673,  a  Dutch  squadron  under  two 
grim  old  sea-dogs,  Admirals  Evertsen  and  Binckes, 
suddenly  appeared  in  the  lower  bay.  The  English 
commander  in  the  fort  endeavored  to  treat  with 
them;  but  they  would  hearken  to  no  terms  save 
immediate  surrender,  saying  that '  'they  had  come 
for  their  own,  and  their  own  they  would  have." 
The  Dutch  militia  would  not  fight  against  their 
countrymen;  and  the  other  citizens  were  not 
inclined  to  run  any  risk  in  a  contest  that  concerned 
them  but  little.     Evertsen 's  frigates  sailed  up  to 


Beginning  of  English  Rule  55 

within  musket-shot  of  the  fort,  and  firing  began 
on  both  sides.  After  receiving  a  couple  of  broad- 
sides which  killed  and  wounded  several  of  the 
garrison,  the  English  flag  was  struck,  and  the  fort 
was  surrendered  to  the  Dutch  troops,  who  had 
already  landed,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Anthony  Colve.  So  ended  the  first  nine  years  of 
English  supremacy  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. 

The  victors  at  once  proceeded  to  undo  the  work 
of  the  men  they  had  ousted.  Dutch  was  once 
more  made  the  formal  official  language  (though 
it  had  never  been  completely  abandoned),  and 
the  whole  scheme  of  the  English  government  was 
overturned.  In  the  city  itself  the  schepens,  bur- 
gomasters, and  schout  again  took  the  place  of 
sheriff,  mayor,  and  aldermen.  There  was  very 
little  violence,  although  one  or  two  houses  were 
plundered,  and  a  citizen  here  and  there  insulted 
or  slightly  maltreated  by  the  soldiers, — much  as 
had  happened  after  the  original  conquest,  with  the 
important  exception  that  it  was  now  the  Dutch 
who  did  the  maltreating,  and  the  English  who 
were  the  sufferers. 

When  the  province  was  lost  it  was  a  mere  pro- 
prietary colony  of  the  West  India  Company ;  but 
this  corporation  had  died  prior  to  1673,  and  the 
province  was  regained  by  the  victory  of  a  national 
Dutch  force,  and  was  held  for  the  whole  nation. 
Evertsen,  acting  for  the  home  government,  made 


56  New  York 

Colve  the  director  of  the  province.  Colve  was  a 
rough,  imperious,  resolute  man,  a  good  soldier, 
but  with  no  very  great  regard  for  civil  liberty. 
The  whole  province  was  speedily  reduced.  The 
Dutch  towns  along  the  Hudson  submitted  gladly ; 
but  the  Puritan  villages  on  Long  Island  were  sullen 
and  showed  symptoms  of  defiance,  appealing  to 
Connecticut  for  help.  However,  Colve  and  E vert- 
sen,  backed  up  by  trained  soldiers  and  a  well- 
equipped  squadron,  were  not  men  to  be  trifled 
with.  They  gave  notice  to  the  Long  Islanders 
that  unless  they  were  prepared  to  stand  the 
chances  of  war  they  must  submit  at  once;  and 
submit  they  did,  Connecticut  not  daring  to  inter- 
fere. The  New  Englanders  had  been  willing 
enough  to  bid  defiance  to,  and  to  threaten  the 
conquest  of,  the  New  Netherlands  while  the  prov- 
ince was  weakly  held  by  an  insufficient  force ;  but 
they  were  too  prudent  to  provoke  a  contest  with 
men  of  such  fighting  temper  and  undoubted 
capacity  as  Evertsen  and  Colve,  and  the  war- 
hardened  troops  and  seamen  who  obeyed  their 
behests. 

Colve  ruled  the  internal  affairs  of  the  colony 
with  a  high  hand.  He  made  the  citizens  under- 
stand that  the  military  power  was  supreme  over 
the  civil;  and  when  the  council  protested  against 
anything  he  did,  he  told  them  plainly  that  unless 
they  submitted  he  would  summarily  dismiss  them 


Beginning  of  English  Rule  57 

and  appoint  others  in  their  places.  Military  law 
was  established,  and  heavy  taxes  were  imposed; 
moreover,  as  the  taxes  took  some  time  to  collect, 
those  who  were  most  heavily  assessed  were  forced 
to  make  loans  in  advance.  Altogether  the  burgh- 
ers probably  failed  to  find  that  the  restoration  of 
Dutch  rule  worked  any  very  marked  change  in 
their  favor. 

This  second  period  of  Dutch  supremacy  on 
Manhattan  Island  lasted  for  but  a  year  and  a 
quarter.  Then  in  November,  1674,  the  city  was 
again  given  up  to  the  English  in  accordance  with 
the  terms  of  peace  between  the  belligerent  powers, 
which  provided  for  the  mutual  restitution  of  all 
conquered  territory.  With  this  second  transfer 
New  Amsterdam  definitely  assumed  the  name  of 
New  York;  and  the  province  became  simply  one 
of  the  English  colonies  in  America,  remaining  such 
until,  a  century  afterward,  all  those  colonies  com- 
bined to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  mother  country 
and  become  an  independent  nation. 

Thus  the  province  of  the  New  Netherlands  had 
been  first  taken  by  the  English  by  an  attack  in 
time  of  peace,  when  no  resistance  could  be  made, 
and  had  been  left  in  their  possession  because  it 
was  deemed  of  infinitely  less  consequence  than 
such  colonies  as  Java  and  Surinam;  it  had  then 
been  reconquered  by  the  Dutch,  in  fair  and  open 
war,  and  had  been  again  surrendered  because  of 


58  New  York 

an  agreement  into  which  the  home  government 
was  forced,  owing  to  the  phases  which  the  Euro- 
pean struggle  had  assumed.  The  citizens  through- 
out these  changes  played  but  a  secondary  part, 
the  fate  of  the  city  and  province  being  decided, 
not  by  them,  but  by  the  ships  and  troops  of  Hol- 
land and  England.  Nor  were  the  burghers  as  a 
whole  seriously  affected  in  their  civil,  religious,  or 
social  liberties  by  the  changes.  The  Dutch  and 
English  doubtless  suffered  in  turn  from  certain 
heartburnings  and  jealousies,  as  they  alternately 
took  the  lead  in  managing  the  local  government; 
but  the  grievances  of  the  under-party  were  really 
mainly  sentimental,  for  on  the  one  hand  no 
material  discrimination  was  ever  actually  made 
against  either  element,  and  on  the  other  hand  the 
ruler  for  the  time  being,  whether  Dutch  direcktor 
or  English  governor,  always  made  both  elements 
feel  that  compared  to  him  they  stood  on  a  common 
plane  of  political  inferiority. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  appointed  by  the 
English  king  as  the  governor  who  was  to  receive 
New  York  from  the  hands  of  Director  Colve.  This 
he  did  formally  and  in  state,  many  courtesies 
being  exchanged  between  the  outgoing  and 
incoming  rulers ;  among  the  rest,  Colve  presented 
Andros  with  his  own  state-coach  and  the  three 
horses  that  drew  it.  Andros  at  once  reinstated 
the  English  form  of  government  in  both  province 


Beginning  of  English  Rule         59 

and  city,  and  once  more,  and  this  time  finally, 
made  the  English  the  official  language.  New 
York  was  still  considered  as  a  proprietary  colony 
of  James;  New  Jersey  was  severed  from  it,  and 
became  a  distinct  province.  The  city  itself,  which 
had  numbered  some  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants 
at  the  date  of  the  original  conquest  from  the 
Dutch,  included  about  three  thousand  when 
English  rule  was  for  the  second  time  established. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  STUARTS.       1674-1688. 


A 


NDROS  was  a  man  of  ability  and  energy, 
anxious  to  serve  his  master  the  duke,  and 
also  anxious  to  serve  the  duke's  colony,  in 
so  far  as  its  interests  did  not  clash  with  those  of 
the  duke  himself.  He  was  of  course  a  devoted 
adherent  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  an  ardent  Royal- 
ist, and  a  believer  in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and 
in  government  by  a  limited  ruling  class,  not  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  governed.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  his  imperious  and  fiery  temper,  he  strove  on  the 
whole  to  do  justice  to  the  city  of  mixed  nationali- 
ties over  whose  destinies  he  for  the  time  being 
presided,  and  it  throve  well  under  his  care.  But 
though  he  tried  to  rule  fairly,  he  made  it  distinctly 
understood  that  he,  acting  in  the  name  of  his  over- 
lord the  duke,  was  the  real  and  supreme  master. 
The  city  did  not  govern  itself;  for  he  appointed 
the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  other  officers.  Even 
some  of  his  decrees  which  worked  well  for  the  city 
showed  the  arbitrary  character  of  his  rule,  and 
illustrated  the  vicious  system  of  monopolies  and 
class  and  sectional  legislation  which  then  obtained. 
Thus  he  bestowed  on  New  York  the  sole  right  to 
bolt  and  export  flour.     This  trebled  her  wealth 

60 


Under  the  Stuarts  61 

during  the  sixteen  years  that  elapsed  before  it  was 
repealed,  but  it  of  course  caused  great  hardship 
to  the  inland  towns.  Unmixed  good  however 
resulted  from  his  decree  putting  an  end  to  the 
practice  of  holding  Indians  as  slaves. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  after  the  con- 
quest of  New  York  the  incoming  English  would 
have  been  divided  by  party  lines  from  the  Dutch, 
and  that  they  would  have  been  in  strong  alliance 
with  their  English  neighbors  to  the  eastward. 
The  extreme  Royalist  tone  of  the  new  government, 
and  the  anti-Puritan  or  Episcopal  feeling  of  the 
most  influential  of  the  new  settlers,  were  among 
the  main  causes  which  prevented  either  of  these 
results  from  being  brought  about.  The  English 
Episcopalians  and  Royalists  hated  their  sour, 
gloomy,  fanatical  countrymen  of  different  belief 
much  more  bitterly  than  they  did  their  well-to-do 
Dutch  neighbors;  and  the  middle-class  citizens, 
Dutch  and  English  alike,  were  bound  together  by 
ties  of  interest  and  by  the  stubborn  love  of  liberty 
which  was  common  to  both  races. 

The  high-handed  proceedings  of  Andros  roused 
more  or  less  openly  avowed  ill  feeling  among  the 
poor  but  independent  citizens  of  all  nationalities ; 
and  he  clashed  rather  less  with  the  Manhattaners 
than  with  the  Long  Islanders.  Moreover,  under 
his  rule  New  York's  attitude  as  regards  the  Puri- 
tan commonwealths  of  New  England  continued 


62  New  York 

as  hostile  as  ever,  Andros  adopting  toward  them 
the  exact  tone  of  his  Dutch  predecessors.  He 
asserted  the  right  of  his  colony  to  all  land  west  of 
the  Connecticut.  He  actually  assembled  a  large 
body  of  troops  wherewith  to  subdue  the  New 
England  towns  on  its  banks,  and  only  halted  when 
it  became  evident  that  such  a  proceeding  would 
without  fail  be  desperately  resisted,  and  would 
surely  bring  on  an  intercolonial  war. 

Andros  was  certainly  true  to  his  master;  yet 
James  became  suspicious  of  him,  and,  after  he  had 
been  governor  for  over  six  years,  suddenly  sum- 
moned him  home,  and  sent  over  a  special  agent, 
or  spy,  to  examine  into  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 
Early  in  January,  1681,  Andros  left  for  London, 
where  he  speedily  cleared  his  name  of  all  suspicion, 
and  came  into  high  favor  once  more.  New  York 
meanwhile  was  left  under  the  charge  of  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor Brockholls,  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
of  course  a  high  Tory, — an  inefficient  man,  utterly 
unable  to  cope  with  the  situation.  He  was  ham- 
pered rather  than  aided  by  the  duke's  special 
agents,  who  bungled  everything,  and  soon  became 
the  laughing-stock  of  the  population.  In  conse- 
quence, the  province  speedily  fell  into  a  condition 
not  very  far  removed  from  anarchy.  The  traders 
refused  to  pay  customs  duties,  and  Brockholls  was 
too  timid  to  try  to  collect  them;  and  the  taxes, 
generally,  fell  into  arrears.     Disorderly  meetings 


Under  the  Stuarts  63 

were  held  in  various  places,  and  mob  violence  was 
threatened, — the  Puritan  element  of  course  taking 
the  lead.  Equally  of  course,  and  very  properly, 
the  friends  of  free  government  took  advantage  of 
the  confusion  to  strike  a  blow  for  greater  liberty. 
When  under  a  despotic  rule  which  nevertheless 
secured  order  and  material  prosperity,  there  was 
small  hope  of  effecting  a  change ;  but  the  instant 
the  tyrant  for  the  time  being  became  weak,  there 
was  a  chance  of  success  in  moving  against  him, 
there  being  no  longer,  to  the  minds  of  the  citizens, 
any  substantial  offset  to  atone  for  his  tyranny.  Ac- 
cordingly, a  New  York  jury  formally  presented  to 
the  court  that  the  lack  of  a  Provincial  Assembly 
was  a  grievance.  Popular  feeling  declared  itself 
so  strongly  to  this  effect  that  the  court  adopted 
the  same  view.  Accordingly,  it  accepted  as  its 
own  and  forwarded  to  the  duke  a  petition  drawn 
up  by  the  high  sheriff  of  Long  Island.  This  peti- 
tion set  forth  that  New  York  had  long  groaned 
under  the  intolerable  burden  of  being  subjected  to 
an  arbitrary  and  irresponsible  government,  where- 
by the  colonists  were  forced  against  their  wills  to 
pay  revenue,  while  their  trade  was  burdened,  and 
they  themselves  practically  enthralled.  The  doc- 
ument pointed  by  way  of  contrast  to  the  freer  and 
more  nourishing  colonies  by  which  New  York  was 
flanked  on  either  hand,  and  besought  that  there- 
after the  province  should  be  ruled  by  a  governor, 


64  New  York 

council,  and  assembly,  the  latter  to  be  elected  by 
the  colonial  freeholders. 

The  stoppage  of  the  collections  of  taxes  caused 
the  colony  to  become  a  drain  instead  of  a  source  of 
revenue  to  James ;  and  the  duke  seriously  consid- 
ered the  project  of  selling  such  an  unproductive 
province.  Finally  however  he  decided,  as  an 
alternative,  to  grant  the  wished-for  franchise,  and 
see  if  that  would  improve  matters;  being,  it  is 
said,  advised  to  take  this  course  by  William  Perm 
whose  not  over-creditable  connection  with  the 
Stuarts  occasionally  bore  good  fruit.  As  the  person 
to  put  his  plans  into  execution  and  to  act  as  first 
governor  under  the  new  system,  the  duke  chose 
Thomas  Dongan,  a  Roman  Catholic  Irish  gentle- 
man of  good  family,  the  nephew  of  the  Earl  of 
Tyrconnel.  Dongan  acted  with  wise  liberality 
both  in  matters  political  and  in  matters  religious, 
toward  the  province  he  was  sent  to  govern;  for 
he  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  good  capacity. 
Yet  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  of  his  liber- 
ality was  due  to  honest  conviction,  and  how  much 
to  the  considerations  of  expediency  that  at  the 
moment  influenced  the  House  of  Stuart.  It  was 
an  age  of  religious  intolerance  and  of  government 
by  privileged  classes;  and  the  religion  to  which 
Dongan  and  his  royal  master  adhered  was  at  that 
time,  wherever  it  was  dominant,  the  bitterest  foe 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty.     But  in  England  the 


Under  the  Stuarts  65 

nation  generally  was  Episcopalian;  and  Duke 
James,  a  Catholic,  was  perforce  obliged  to  advo- 
cate toleration  for  all  sects  as  a  step  toward  the 
ultimate  supremacy  of  his  own.  So  in  New  York, 
Dongan  the  Catholic  found  himself  ruler  of  a  prov- 
ince where  there  were  but  a  few  dozen  citizens  of 
his  own  faith,  the  mass  of  the  people  being  stanch 
Protestants,  of  several  jarring  creeds ;  and  he  was 
not  drawn  by  any  special  bonds  of  sympathy  to 
the  class  of  crown  officials  and  the  like,  who  were 
mostly  of  the  very  church  which  in  England  was 
supreme  over  his  own.  His  interests  and  sympa- 
thies thus  naturally  inclined  him  to  side  with  the 
popular  party,  and  to  advocate  religious  liberty. 
As  he  was  also  vigilant  in  preserving  order  and 
warding  off  outside  aggression,  and  devoted  to  the 
well-being  of  the  colony,  he  proved  himself  per- 
haps the  best  colonial  governor  New  York  ever  had. 
Dongan  reached  New  York  in  1683,  and  from 
the  first  was  popular  with  the  colonists.  He  at 
once  issued  writs  for  the  election  of  the  members 
of  the  long-desired  Provincial  Assembly.  They 
were  elected  by  the  freeholders;  and  with  their 
meeting,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  the  province 
took  the  first  real  step, — and  a  very  long  one, — 
toward  self-government.  Dongan  of  course  ap- 
pointed his  own  council ;  and  he  generally  placed 
thereon  representatives  of  the  different  nationali- 
ties and  creeds.     New  York  City  was  of  course  the 

5 


66  New  York 

governmental   seat   or   capital,   as   well   as    the 
metropolis  of  the  province. 

The  Assembly,  the  popular  branch  of  the  gov- 
ernment, consisted  of  eighteen  members,  the 
majority  being  Dutch.  They  promptly  passed  a 
number  of  acts,  all  of  which  were  approved  by 
Dongan  and  his  council.  By  far  the  most  im- 
portant, was  the  special '  'charter  of  Liberties  and 
Privileges,"  granted  by  the  duke  to  the  province. 
By  this  the  right  of  self -taxation  was  reserved  to 
the  colonists,  except  that  certain  specific  duties  on 
importations  were  allowed  to  the  duke  and  his 
heirs.  The  main  features  of  self-government,  so 
long  and  earnestly  desired  by  the  people,  were  also 
secured;  and  entire  liberty  of  conscience  and 
religion  was  guaranteed  to  all.  This  charter  was 
sent  over  to  the  duke,  by  whose  suggestion  several 
small  amendments  were  made  therein;  he  then 
signed  and  sealed  but  did  not  deliver  it.  Thus  it 
never  formally  went  into  effect;  yet  the  govern- 
ment of  New  York  was  carried  on  under  its  pro- 
visions for  several  years.  One  of  the  acts  of  this 
first  Assembly  was  well  in  line  with  the  policy  of 
extreme  liberality  toward  all  foreign-born  citizens 
which  New  York  has  always  consistently  followed : 
it  conferred  full  rights  of  citizenship  upon  all  white 
foreigners  who  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
The  especial  purpose  of  passing  the  act  was  to 
benefit  the  Huguenots,  who  were  being  expelled 


Under  the  Stuarts  67 

from  France  by  tens  of  thousands,  thanks  to  the 
cruel  bigotry  of  the  French  king,  Louis  XIV. 

With  the  return  of  order  and  the  dawn  of  lib- 
erty, the  city  once  more  began  to  flourish.  Trade 
increased,  the  fisheries  did  well,  new  buildings 
were  put  up,  and  taxes  were  paid  without  grum- 
bling. Addresses  of  gratitude  were  sent  to  the 
duke,  and  the  citizens  were  fervent  in  their  praise 
of  Dongan.  Even  the  religious  animosities  were 
for  the  moment  softened.  The  old  church  in  the 
fort  was  used  every  Sunday  by  the  representatives 
of  all  three  of  the  leading  creeds,  the  services  being 
held  in  as  many  different  languages, — the  Dutch 
in  the  morning,  the  French  at  midday,  and  the 
English,  by  the  Episcopalians,  in  the  afternoon; 
while  Dongan  and  his  few  fellow-religionists  wor- 
shiped in  a  little  chapel.  Even  the  austere  Cal- 
vinist  dominies  could  not  refrain  from  paying  their 
meed  of  respect  to  the  new  governor. 

As  soon  as  the  Assembly  adjourned,  Dongan 
granted  new  "liberties  and  privileges"  to  the  city 
itself.  In  accordance  with  these  new  articles,  the 
aldermen  were  elected  by  the  freeholders  in  the 
various  wards,  the  mayor  being  appointed  by  the 
governor.  The  board  of  aldermen  was  a  real,  not 
(as  in  our  day)  a  nominal,  legislative  body,  and 
enacted  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  city. 
Some  of  them  were  of  very  stringent  character; 
notably  those  which  provided  against  any  kind 


68  New  York 

of  work  or  amusement  on  the  Sabbath,  and  which 
forbade  all  assemblages  of  the  numerous  negro 
slaves, — for  the  slave-holding  burghers  were 
haunted  by  the  constant  terror  of  a  servile  in- 
surrection. 

Affairs  went  on  smoothly  until  the  death  of 
Charles  II.  and  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  New 
York's  ducal  proprietor,  under  the  title  of  James 
II.  Dongan  made  journeys  hither  and  thither 
through  his  province,  pacifying  the  Indians,  and 
seeing  to  the  best  interests  of  his  own  people.  He 
was  especially  zealous  in  keeping  guard  over  the 
northern  frontier,  already  threatened  by  the 
French  masters  of  Canada,  so  long  the  arch  foes 
of  the  northeastern  English  colonies.  Although 
Dongan  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  he  did  not  show 
any  of  that  feeling  which  made  some  of  his  co- 
religionists sacrifice  country  to  creed,  nor  did  he 
ever  become  a  tool  of  France,  like  so  many  of  the 
Stuart  courtiers  of  his  day.  On  the  contrary,  he 
was  active  in  thwarting  French  intrigues  in  the 
north,  giving  full  warning  concerning  them  to  his 
royal  master,  to  whom  his  active  and  loyal 
patriotism  could  hardly  have  been  altogether 
pleasant. 

At  any  rate,  no  sooner  had  the  duke  become 
king  than  he  dropped  the  mask  of  liberality,  and 
took  up  his  natural  position  as  a  political  and  re- 
ligious tyrant.     Under  the  influence  of  Dongan, 


Under  the  Stuarts  69 

he  did  indeed  grant  to  the  city  itself  a  charter  of 
special  rights  and  privileges,  which  formed  the 
basis  of  those  subsequently  granted  in  colonial 
times.  The  instrument  not  only  confirmed  the 
city  in  the  possession  of  the  privileges  it  already 
possessed,  but  allowed  it  a  large  quantity  of  real 
estate,  from  some  of  which  the  municipality  draws 
a  revenue  to  the  present  day,  while  the  rest  has 
been  given  over  for  the  common  use  of  the  people. 
But  on  the  main  point  of  self-government  the  king 
was  resolved  to  retrace  his  steps.  He  would  not 
consummate  his  action  giving  a  liberal  charter  to 
the  province,  and  though  in  1684  Dongan  sum- 
moned the  Assembly  to  meet  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility, it  was  never  thereafter  called;  and  New 
York's  share  in  self-government  came  to  an  end 
as  far  as  the  Stuarts  were  concerned. 

In  1688  Dongan  himself  was  deprived  of  the 
control  of  the  province  he  had  ruled  so  faithfully 
and  wisely.  The  king  was  bent  upon  being  abso- 
lute master  of  the  colonies  no  less  than  of  the 
home  country;  and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  he 
threw  New  England,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey 
into  one  province,  abolishing  all  the  different 
charters,  and  putting  the  colonists  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  royal  governor.  Dongan 
was  too  liberal  a  man  to  be  entrusted  with  the 
carrying  out  of  such  a  policy.  Sir  Edmund  Andros 
was  sent  over  in  his  stead,  to  act  as  the  instrument 


70  New  York 

for  depriving  the  people  of  such  measure  of 
freedom  as  they  possessed.  The  bitterness  of  the 
religious  feeling  of  the  day  may  be  gathered  from 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  more  bigoted  Protest- 
ants of  Manhattan  actually  welcomed  the  change 
of  governors,  being  unable  to  pardon  their  friend 
because  he  was  not  of  their  creed,  and  greeting 
their  foe  warmly  because,  forsooth,  they  did  not 
quite  so  widely  disagree  with  his  theological  tenets. 
However,  the  mass  of  the  people  in  both  New 
York  and  New  England  speedily  became  welded 
into  one  in  opposition  to  the  absolutism  of  the 
Stuart  king,  as  typified  by  his  lieutenant.  Hol- 
lander and  Puritan  were  knit  together  by  the  bond 
of  a  common  hatred  to  the  common  oppressor; 
the  Puritan  as  usual  taking  the  lead.  They  were 
outraged  because  of  the  loss  of  their  political 
rights;  and  they  feared  greatly  lest  they  should 
soon  also  lose  their  religious  freedom.  Moreover, 
the  colonies  were  already  jealous  of  one  another, 
and  deeply  imbued  with  the  Separatist  feeling; 
and  they  counted  the  loss  of  their  special  charters, 
and  the  obliteration  of  their  boundary  lines  that 
they  might  be  put  under  one  government,  as  griev- 
ances intolerable  and  not  to  be  borne.  Nor  did 
they  have  to  bear  them  long.  That  very  year 
William  of  Orange  landed  in  England  and  drove 
the  last  Stuart  king  from  his  throne.  The  news 
reached  America  early  in  1689,  when  Andros  was 


Under  the  Stuarts  71 

in  Boston,  and  the  New  Englanders  rose  instantly 
and  threw  him  into  prison,  while  his  governmental 
fabric  throughout  the  provinces  perished  almost 
in  a  day. 

The  accession  of  the  Dutch  prince  to  the  throne 
of  England  added  another  to  the  forces  that  were 
tending  to  make  the  various  ethnic  elements  of 
New  York  fuse  together.  All  New  Yorkers  could 
be  loyal  to  the  Dutch  prince  who  wore  an  English 
crown,  and  who  was  their  special  champion  against 
a  hostile  creed  and  race.  For  the  next  eighty 
years  Holland  was  England's  ally,  so  that  the 
Hollanders  in  America  saw  nothing  at  work  in 
European  politics  which  should  make  them  un- 
friendly to  their  English  fellow-citizens;  and  the 
one  great  enemy  of  both  races  was  France.  Their 
interests  and  enmities  were  the  same,  and  were 
also  identical  with  those  of  the  Huguenots,  who 
formed  the  third  great  element  in  the  population. 
It  was  this  identity  of  interests  and  enmities,  no 
less  than  the  similarity  in  religious  belief,  which 
made  it  possible  for  the  two  races  already  in  the 
land  to  merge  so  easily  into  the  third  and  later- 
coming  race.  The  comparative  rapidity  of  this 
fusion  in  New  York  is  noteworthy.  It  stands  in 
sharp  contrast  to  the  slowness  of  the  intermingling 
where  the  English  or  their  successors  have  con- 
quered and  moved  into  communities  of  Catholic 
French  and  Spaniards. 


72  New  York 

From  1689  onward,  the  antagonisms  of  race 
were  only  secondary  causes  of  party  and  factional 
hostility  in  New  York.  The  different  nationali- 
ties remained  far  less  stubbornly  apart  than  was 
the  case  in  the  neighboring  colony  of  Pennsylvania 
for  instance.  Even  when  the  bulk  of  one  nation- 
ality was  found  to  be  opposed  to  the  bulk  of  an- 
other, the  seeming  race  antagonism  was  usually 
merely  incidental,  the  real  line  of  division  being 
drawn  with  regard  to  other  matters,  such  as  di- 
vided the  aristocratic  and  popular  parties  else- 
where. No  element  of  the  population  kept  ob- 
stinately aloof  from  the  rest  as  did  a  large  section 
of  the  Pennsylvanian  Germans,  to  their  own  last- 
ing harm.  The  different  races  gradually  grew  to 
speak  the  same  language,  and  then  intermarried 
and  merged  together;  for  in  America  the  inter- 
marriage and  fusion  of  races  follows,  but  does  not 
precede,  their  adoption  of  a  common  tongue.  The 
Revolution  and  the  preliminary  agitation  greatly 
hastened  this  fusion ;  but  it  was  already  well  under 
way  before  the  first  mutterings  of  the  Revolution 
were  heard. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  USURPATION   OF  LEISLER.       1689-1691. 

THE  overthrow  of  the  Stuart  dynasty,  and  the 
consequent  sudden  fall  of  Andros,  brought 
about  the  collapse  of  the  existing  govern- 
ment in  New  York.  There  followed  a  period  of 
turmoil  and  disorder,  marked  by  a  curious  party 
fight  and  revolution,  or  rather  attempted  revo- 
lution, which  in  its  various  phases  well  illustrated 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  New  York  life. 

The  relaxing  of  the  bonds  of  authority  allowed 
the  jealousies  between  the  different  classes  of  the 
population  to  come  to  a  head.  The  mass  of  the 
citizens, — the  men  of  small  means,  who  in  the  best 
of  times  had  enjoyed  but  little  influence  in  the 
political  life  of  the  colony, — were  sullenly  hostile 
to  the  aristocratic  and  conservative  class  of  crown 
officials,  patroons,  rich  merchants,  and  the  like. 
The  ferment  in  men's  minds  enormously  increased 
the  activity  of  the  forces  that  were  tending  to  col- 
lision. After  Andros  was  imprisoned  the  con- 
servative faction  wished  to  continue  in  power  the 
existing  officers,  appointed  by  King  James,  until 
they  could  be  replaced  by  others  bearing  commis- 
sions from  King  William.  The  popular  party,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  for  immediate  action.     Their 

73 


74  New  York 

leaders  were  inspired  by  the  course  of  the  New 
England  colonies,  which  had  promptly  set  up  their 
former  chartered  governments.  Their  proposal 
was  to  turn  out  all  of  the  Stuart  officials,  and  to 
put  in  their  places  men  known  to  be  faithful  to  the 
new  order  of  things,  who  should  govern  until  the 
will  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  known.  Of 
course  all  of  the  official  class  and  the  English 
Episcopalians,  as  well  as  the  Hollanders  and  Hu- 
guenots of  property,  generally  took  the  conserva- 
tive view;  the  other  was  adopted  by  the  poor 
people  and  radical  liberals  and  Protestants,  very 
many  of  the  Puritans  uniting  with  the  Dutch  and 
French  Calvinist  working  men,  small  traders, 
sailors,  and  farm  laborers.  The  popular  party 
was  at  first  joined  by  a  very  large  number  of  re- 
spectable men,  well-to-do  or  of  small  means,  who 
afterward  became  alienated  by  the  sweeping 
measures  of  the  extremists  and  by  the  fickleness 
and  violence  of  the  mob.  The  greater  number  of 
the  citizens  whose  tongue  was  French  or  Dutch 
were  in  its  ranks,  while  the  aristocratic  faction 
contained  a  large  share  of  the  English  element; 
but  the  difference  was  one  of  caste  and  instinct, 
not  of  speech  or  race.  Indeed,  the  leaders  of  the 
aristocratic  wing,  after  the  lieutenant-governor 
(Nicholson),  were  the  three  members  of  the  de- 
posed governor's  council,  Bayard,  Van  Cortlandt 
and  Phillipse,  all  of  Dutch  birth  or  ancestry.     On 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  75 

the  other  hand  their  opponents  were  led  by  a 
man  named  Jacob  Leisler,  who  was  strongly  sec- 
onded by  his  son-in-law,  one  Jacob  Milborne. 
New  York  City,  then  as  now,  contained  within 
its  population  many  different  races  only  beginning 
to  fuse  together;  and  then  as  now,  the  lines  of 
party  were  only  subordinately  affected  by  the 
lines  of  race, — each  faction  possessing  represen- 
tatives of  all  the  different  elements,  while  the 
leaders  were  found,  as  is  still  the  case,  among  men 
of  diverse  origin  and  nationality.  Religious  ani- 
mosities, as  ever  since,  had  much  effect  in  sharpen- 
ing party  differences. 

Leisler  was  a  merchant  of  property,  a  deacon  in 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  and  a  captain  of  one 
of  the  six  militia  trainbands  over  which  Bayard 
was  colonel.  He  was  a  zealous  Protestant  and 
Republican,  a  fanatical  hater  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  and  only  less  opposed  to  the  Episco- 
pacy of  the  English.  He  seems  to  have  been  an 
earnest  man,  of  much  power  and  energy,  honest 
in  his  purpose  to  help  the  poorer  people  and  to 
put  down  civil  and  religious  tyranny.  It  is  easy 
to  imagine  circumstances  in  which  he  would  have 
done  much  good  to  the  community  wherein  he 
lived.  But  he  was  of  coarse,  passionate  nature, 
and  too  self-willed  and  vain  not  to  have  his  head 
turned  by  sudden  success  and  the  possession  of 
power.     Moreover,  like  most  popular  leaders  of 


76  New  York 

his  stamp,  the  very  sincerity  of  his  convictions 
made  him  feel  that  the  cause  of  the  people  was 
indeed  his  own,  and  therefore  that  the  converse 
of  the  proposition  was  also  true.  Such  a  man 
when  he  himself  becomes  a  ruler  is  of  course  likely 
to  continue  to  exercise  against  the  people  the  very 
qualities  which  in  the  beginning  he  has  exercised 
on  their  behalf ;  and  this  without  any,  or  at  most 
with  but  little,  conscious  change  of  intent.  Yet 
with  all  Leisler's  faults  it  must  be  remembered 
that  fundamentally  he  was  right,  for  he  struggled 
to  procure  enlarged  liberties  for  the  people. 

The  tyranny  of  King  James  had  been  two  sided, 
— he  had  striven  to  make  the  power  of  the  sov- 
ereign absolute,  and  less  directly,  to  make  the 
Romish  Church  arbiter  of  men's  consciences.  The 
New  York  commonalty  detested  his  officers,  both 
as  representing  the  civil  power  that  actually  had 
oppressed  them  and  as  standing  for  the  religious 
power  that  possibly  would  oppress  them.  They 
naturally  bore  especial  hatred  to  such  of  the  of- 
ficials as  were  Catholics;  and  it  was  this  feeling 
that  brought  about  the  first  break  between  the 
popular  party  and  the  upholders  of  the  existing 
order  of  things. 

Leisler  imported  a  cargo  of  wine  from  Europe, 
but  refused  to  pay  the  duties  on  the  ground  that 
the  collector  of  the  port  was  a  Catholic.  The  coun- 
cil sided  with  the  collector,  and  high  words  passed 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  77 

between  them  and  Leisler,  ending  with  a  furious 
quarrel  and  the  interchange  of  threats.  The  com- 
mon folk  at  once  made  the  cause  of  the  recalcitrant 
wine  merchant  their  own,  and  adopted  him  as 
their  champion, — a  position  for  which  he  was  well 
fitted  by  his  truculent  daring  and  energy.  Many 
wild  stories  were  afloat  as  to  the  plots  which  were 
being  concocted  by  the  governmental  officers, 
whom  most  of  the  citizens  firmly  believed  to  be 
under  the  influence  of  the  Catholics,  and  in  secret 
league  with  the  fallen  monarch.  It  was  rumored, 
now  that  they  were  about  to  surrender  the  city  to 
the  French,  now  that  they  were  plotting  to  procure 
an  uprising  of  the  Catholics  and  massacre  of  the 
Protestants.  As  the  latter  outnumbered  the 
former  twenty  to  one,  this  fear  shows  the  state  of 
foolish  panic  to  which  the  people  had  been 
wrought ;  but  foolish  or  not,  their  excitement  kept 
rising,  and  they  became  more  and  more  angry  and 
uneasy. 

The  outbreak  was  finally  precipitated  by  a  mis- 
understanding between  the  governing  authorities 
and  some  of  the  trainbands;  for  the  latter  had 
been  called  in  to  assist  the  handful  of  regular 
troops  who  were  on  guard  in  the  fort.  The  quarrel 
arose  over  a  question  of  discipline  between  the 
lieutenant-governor  and  the  militia  officers.  The 
former  chafed  under  the  suspicions  of  the  citizens, 
— which  he  was  perhaps  conscious  that  he  merited, 


78  New  York 

at  least  to  the  extent  of  being  but  a  lukewarm 
supporter  of  the  new  order  of  things, — and  lacked 
the  tact  to  handle  himself  properly  in  such  an 
emergency.  He  ended  by  bursting  into  a  passion, 
and  dismissing  the  militia  officers  from  his  pres- 
ence with  the  remark  that  he  would  rather  see  the 
town  on  fire  than  be  commanded  by  them. 

This  was  the  spark  to  the  train.  The  indignant 
militiamen  were  soon  spreading  the  report  that  the 
governor  had  threatened  in  their  presence  to  burn 
the  town.  The  burghers  readily  believed  the 
truth  of  the  statement,  and  under  Leisler's  lead 
determined  to  take  the  reins  of  the  government 
into  their  own  hands.  At  noon  of  May  31,  1689, 
Leisler  summoned  the  citizens  to  arms  by  beat  of 
drum,  mustering  his  own  trainband  before  his 
house.  The  suddenness  of  the  movement,  and 
Leisler's  energy,  paralyzed  opposition.  The  lieu- 
tenant-governor yielded  up  the  fort,  no  time  being 
given  him  to  prepare  for  resistance ;  and  the  city 
council  were  speedily  overawed  by  the  militia,  who 
marched  into  their  presence  as  they  sat  in  the  City 
Hall.  The  popular  party  for  the  first  time  was  in 
complete  control  of  the  city. 

There  was  much  justification  for  this  act  of  the 
common  people  and  their  leaders.  Doubtless  their 
fears  for  their  own  lives  and  property  were  exag- 
gerated ;  but  there  was  good  ground  for  uneasiness 
so  long  as  the  city  was  under  the  control  of  the 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  79 

Stuart  adherents.  The  exiled  House  of  Stuart 
became  at  once  the  active  ally  of  the  most  bitter 
enemies  of  England,  Holland,  and  their  colonies. 
King  James  identified  his  cause  with  that  of  the 
Church  and  the  nation  from  whose  triumph  the 
New  Yorkers  had  most  to  fear.  Many  of  the 
officers  whom  he  had  left  in  high  places  proved 
willing  to  betray  their  countrymen  for  the  sake  of 
their  king;  and  even  attempted  treachery  might 
bring  manifold  and  serious  evils  upon  a  small 
colonial  city  like  New  York.  If  there  was  really 
but  little  danger  from  the  Catholics,  there  was 
beyond  question  a  great  deal  to  be  feared  from  the 
French ;  and  all  those  who  held  commissions  from 
the  House  of  Stuart,  if  they  were  loyal  to  the  king 
who  had  appointed  them,  were  bound  to  render 
assistance  to  the  common  public  enemy,  France. 
Leisler  and  the  burghers  were  on  the  whole  right 
in  feeling  that  they  were  warranted  in  overthrow- 
ing the  old  government.  In  this  they  were  sup- 
ported, at  least  passively,  by  the  bulk  even  of  the 
conservative  citizens;  they  were  opposed  chiefly 
by  the  rich  and  aristocratic  families,  who  were 
hostile  to  all  popular  movements,  and  perhaps 
leaned  secretly  to  the  side  of  the  Stuarts  and 
absolute  government.  Of  course  the  timid  and 
wealthy  persons  of  no  convictions  objected  to 
change  of  any  sort.  Had  Leisler  contented  him- 
self with  merely  establishing  a  temporary  govern- 


80  New  York 

ment  to  preserve  order  and  ward  off  outside 
aggression  until  the  new  officials  should  arrive 
from  England,  he  would  have  deserved  the  good- 
will of  all  the  citizens. 

Unfortunately,  he  lacked  the  self-restraint  and 
clear-sightedness  necessary  to  the  pursuit  of  such 
a  course ;  and  he  speedily  established  as  arbitrary 
and  unjust  a  government  as  that  he  overthrew. 
For  a  short  time  he  ruled  wisely  and  with  moder- 
ation, oppressing  no  one.  Then  his  head  became 
turned  by  his  position.  He  was  always  boasting 
of  his  feat  in,  as  he  asserted,  saving  the  city  from 
destruction;  and  he  kept  comparing  himself  to 
Cromwell,  announcing  that  to  rescue  the  people 
from  their  oppressors,  there  was  need  of  sword- 
rule  in  New  York.  The  English  Episcopalians 
naturally  detested  his  sway  from  the  beginning, 
as  did  those  wealthy  French  and  Dutch  families 
that  had  previously  possessed  a  share  of  the  gov- 
erning power.  All  of  these  people  were  closely 
watched;  and  though  at  first  not  actually  mo- 
lested, they  soon  began  to  suffer  petty  oppression 
and  injustice  at  the  hands  of  the  rougher  of  Leis- 
ler's  lieutenants.  As  they  grew  more  set  against 
Leisler  their  hatred  was  repaid  in  kind.  From 
time  to  time  both  their  persons  and  their  property 
were  put  in  actual  jeopardy  by  some  freak  of  jeal- 
ous suspicion  or  wounded  vanity  on  the  part  of 
the  popular  dictator.     The  mass  of  the  people  did 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  81 

not  care  much  for  the  ills  that  befell  these  first 
sufferers ;  but  before  many  months  were  over,  they 
themselves  were  forced  to  bear  their  share  of  un- 
just treatment,  and  then  of  course  they  became 
very  loud  in  their  indignation.  Leisler  was  doubt- 
less in  part  actuated  by  honest  distrust  of  his 
opponents,  and  belief  that  he  himself  could  do 
most  good  to  the  city  and  especially  to  the  com- 
mon folk,  and  in  part  by  the  ambitions  to  which 
his  success  had  given  birth.  He  found  it  difficult 
to  know  where  to  stop  in  pursuing  his  dictatorial 
policy.  His  suspicion  of  the  Episcopalians  grew 
to  include  the  Puritans.  His  animosity  toward 
the  aristocratic  families  was  far  from  being  alto- 
gether causeless;  for  they  were  undoubtedly 
bitterly  hostile  not  only  to  him  but  to  the  popular 
cause  he  represented.  But  he  soon  began  to  con- 
found his  aristocratic  enemies  with  the  people  of 
means  generally ;  and  his  baser  supporters,  under 
plea  of  enthusiasm  for  Protestantism  and  liberty, 
menaced  indiscriminately  every  man  of  property, 
so  that  all  the  most  thrifty  and  successful  people 
of  the  community,  including  the  Dutch  and  Hu- 
guenot clergy,  became  banded  together  against 
him.  The  decent  working  men  also  grew  alarmed 
at  his  excesses  and  irritated  at  the  pride  he  dis- 
played and  at  the  insolence  of  some  of  his  sub- 
ordinates, their  own  former  equals. 

Soon  after  Leisler  had  overthrown  the  lieuten- 
6 


82  New  York 

ant-governor  and  taken  the  reins  of  power,  a  royal 
proclamation  was  brought  over  which  continued 
in  office  all  Protestant  officials.  The  old  council 
greeted  this  proclamation  with  exultation,  for  if 
obeyed  it  restored  them  to  office;  but  Leisler, 
fearing  for  his  life  if  his  foes  returned  to  power, 
and  furious  at  seeing  his  work  thus  undone,  de- 
termined to  disobey  the  command  of  the  sove- 
reigns, treasonable  though  such  conduct  was. 
At  the  head  of  his  troops  he  dispersed  the  council, 
and  continued  his  own  appointees  in  place.  The 
mob  was  at  this  time  heartily  in  his  favor,  and 
cheered  on  the  trainbands;  and  finally  Bayard 
and  Van  Cortlandt  were  chased  from  the  city. 

Leisler  had  summoned  a  convention  which, 
when  it  met,  contained  of  course  only  the  extreme 
men ;  not  a  few  of  its  members  were  Republicans, 
or  avowed  adherents  to  the  policy  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well. They  chose  a  committee  of  safety,  ten  in 
number,  consisting  of  Hollanders,  Huguenots, 
and  English  Puritans.  They  were  all  furious 
Protestants  and  ultra  liberals;  and  they  speedily 
nominated  Leisler  as  commander-in-chief,  with 
extensive  and  indeed  arbitrary  powers.  Soon 
afterward  a  letter  was  received  from  the  sove- 
reigns which  was  directed  to  the  '  'commander-in- 
chief"  of  the  province  of  New  York.  It  was 
meant  for  Nicholson  whom  the  home  government 
supposed  to  be  still  in  power,  but  by  an  oversight 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  83 

his  name  was  not  put  in  the  document;  and  the 
delighted  Leisler  insisted  that  he  himself  was  the 
man  for  whom  it  was  intended.  He  promptly 
assumed  the  title  of  lieutenant-governor,  chose 
his  own  council,  and  formally  entered  on  his  duties 
as  the  royal  representative  and  ruler  of  the  colony. 
He  treated  the  city  as  under  martial  law,  yet  in 
certain  matters  he  showed  his  leaning  toward 
democracy.  Thus  instead  of  appointing  a  mayor 
he  allowed  the  freeholders  to  elect  one, — the  first, 
and  until  1834,  the  last  elective  mayor  of  New 
York.  The  opposition  to  his  rule  outside  of 
Manhattan  Island  was  very  strong  from  the  out- 
set; and  Albany,  under  the  lead  of  Schuyler, 
refused  to  recognize  his  authority  until  forced  to 
do  so  by  the  pressing  danger  from  the  Cana- 
dian French  and  their  savage  allies. 

In  outside  matters  the  usurping  governor 
showed  breadth  of  mind, — notably  in  calling  a 
congress  of  the  colonies,  the  first  of  its  kind,  which 
met  in  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1690.  The 
purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  plan  a  joint  attack 
on  Canada;  for  Count  Frontenac's  war-parties 
were  cruelly  harassing  the  outlying  settlements  of 
both  New  York  and  New  England.  A  small  army 
of  Connecticut  men  and  New  Yorkers  was  as- 
sembled, and  marched  to  the  head  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  but  owing  to  mismanagement  accomplished 
nothing;  and   the   expedition  was   finally  aban- 


84  New  York 

doned  after  a  bitter  quarrel  between  Leisler  and  his 
New  England  allies.  Nothing  against  France  was 
accomplished  beyond  a  couple  of  brilliant  raids 
made  by  Schuyler  up  to  the  walls  of  Montreal, 
and  the  capture  of  a  number  of  French  ships  by 
Leisler's  New  York  privateers.  Yet,  though  this 
intercolonial  congress  produced  such  small  results, 
it  marks  an  era  in  the  growth  of  the  provinces 
which  afterward  became  the  United  States.  It 
was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the  colonies  ever 
showed  the  least  tendency  to  act  together,  or  on 
which  they  appeared  as  aught  but  a  jumble  of 
mutually  hostile  communities.  Up  to  this  time 
their  several  paths  of  development  had  been  en- 
tirely separate,  and  their  interests  independent 
and  usually  conflicting;  but  after  this  date  they 
had  a  certain  loose  connection  with  one  another, 
and  it  becomes  possible  to  treat  their  history  in 
some  degree  as  a  whole. 

In  domestic  affairs,  Leisler  sometimes  did  well 
and  sometimes  ill.  He  summoned  two  popular 
assemblies.  They  were  filled  with  his  supporters, 
ratified  all  his  acts,  and  gave  him  power  to  go  to 
any  lengths  he  chose.  He  allowed  his  subor- 
dinates to  maltreat  the  Long  Islanders,  Dutchmen 
and  Puritans  alike,  who  accordingly  sent  long 
petitions  for  redress  to  England.  He  opened 
letters,  plundered  houses,  confiscated  estates  to 
satisfy  taxes,  and  imprisoned  numbers  of  the  lead- 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  85 

ing  citizens  whom  he  believed  to  be  his  enemies. 
He  treated  the  Calvinist  dominies  as  roughly  as 
their  flocks,  and  all  the  men  of  property  became 
greatly  alarmed.  The  leading  Dutch  and  French 
citizens  made  common  cause  with  the  English, 
and  sent  a  vigorous  remonstrance  to  the  home 
government  praying  for  relief,  and  denouncing 
Leisler  as  an  '  'insolent  alien  "  who  had  tyrannized 
over  the  city,  holding  the  lives  and  property  of  all 
citizens  at  his  mercy,  and  setting  up  as  rulers  men 
of  the  meanest  station  and  capacity,  and  often  of 
criminal  antecedents.  Doubtless  much  of  this 
opposition  was  due  merely  to  an  aristocratic  dis- 
like of  anything  like  democracy;  but  Leisler' s 
1  'government  of  the  people"  had  beyond  question 
begun  to  degenerate  into  government  by  the  mob 
and  by  a  tyrant.  His  overbearing  conduct  alien- 
ated the  mass  of  the  mechanics,  craftsmen,  and 
laborers;  and  he  was  soon  left  unsupported  save 
by  the  men  he  had  put  in  office,  and  by  the  militia, 
in  whose  ranks  he  had  left  only  his  own  adherents. 
The  repeated  petitions  of  the  citizens  attracted 
the  attention  of  King  William;  and  to  stop  the 
disorders  a  governor  (Sloughter)  and  a  lieutenant- 
governor  (Ingoldsby)  were  duly  commissioned, 
and  sent  out  to  the  colony  with  an  adequate  force 
of  regular  troops.  The  ship  carrying  the  governor 
was  blown  out  of  its  course ;  and  when  Ingoldsby, 
early  in  February,   1691,  landed  on  Manhattan 


86  New  York 

Island,  Leisler  refused  to  recognize  his  authority. 
The  mass  of  the  citizens  supported  Ingoldsby, 
while  the  militia  stood  by  Leisler.  For  six  weeks 
the  two  parties  remained  under  arms,  threatening 
each  other,  Ingoldsby' s  headquarters  being  in  the 
City  Hall  and  Leisler' s  in  the  fort.  Then  a  skir- 
mish took  place  in  which  several  of  Ingoldsby' s 
regulars  were  killed  or  wounded,  while  Leisler' s 
militia,  shielded  by  the  fort,  escaped  unharmed. 
The  very  day  after  this,  Governor  Sloughter's  ship 
appeared  in  the  harbor,  and  he  immediately  landed 
and  took  command.  The  following  morning 
Leisler' s  militia  deserted  him,  and  he  and  his  chief 
officers  were  promptly  seized  and  imprisoned. 
They  were  tried  for  high  treason,  and  Leisler  and 
Milborne,  the  two  ringleaders,  were  adjudged 
guilty  and  hanged;  most  of  the  respectable  citi- 
zens, including  the  clergymen  of  every  denomi- 
nation, demanding  their  death  as  affording  the 
only  warrant  for  the  future  safety  of  the  colony. 
The  Leislerian  or  democratic  party  was  cowed, 
and  for  the  moment  did  nothing  save  feebly  and 
ineffectually  to  protest  against  the  execution  of 
the  sentence. 

The  popular  party  of  New  York  had  certainly 
failed  to  show  governmental  capacity,  moderation 
toward  opponents,  or  power  to  curb  the  oppressive 
tyranny  of  its  own  leaders.  Its  downfall  was  as 
complete  as  the  triumph  of  the  aristocratic  ele- 


Usurpation  of  Leisler  87 

ment.  The  government  of  the  colony  was  at  once 
put  on  the  basis  on  which  it  stood  until  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution.  There  was  a  governor 
appointed  by  the  king,  and  a  council  likewise 
appointed ;  while  the  Assembly  was  elected  by  the 
freeholders.  The  suffrage  was  thus  limited  by  a 
strict  property  qualification.  Liberty  of  con- 
science was  granted  to  all  Protestant  sects,  but  not 
to  the  Catholics ;  and  the  Church  of  England  was 
practically  made  the  State  Church,  though  the 
Dutch  and  French  congregations  were  secured  in 
the  rights  guaranteed  them  by  treaty.  It  was 
thus  essentially  a  class  or  aristocratic  government, 
— none  the  less  so  because  to  European  eyes  the 
little  American  aristocracy  seemed  both  poor  and 
rude.  In  a  frontier  community  such  as  New  York 
then  was,  it  was  comparatively  easy  for  any  man 
to  acquire  property  and  position,  and  thus  step 
into  the  ranks  of  the  relatively  large  ruling  class.1 

Many  of  the  leading  families  in  colonial  times  were 
descended  from  the  Old  World  gentry.  Many  others  sprang 
from  successful  adventurers  of  almost  unknown  ancestry; 
and  there  was  every  gradation  between  these  two  extremes. 
The  Livingstons,  for  instance,  one  of  the  really  noted  New 
York  families,  were  descended  from  a  young  Scotch  factor, 
just  like  hundreds  of  penniless,  pushing  young  Scotchmen 
who  have  come  to  this  country  in  the  steerage  of  sailing-ship 
or  steamer  during  the  present  century.  Of  the  men  of  high 
social  standing  in  the  Old  World  who  came  over  to  make 
their  fortunes  in  the  New,  probably  the  majority  failed,  and 
their  descendants  slipped  down  into  the  lower  ranks  of  the 
population. 


88  New  York 

Nevertheless,  democracy,  as  such,  had  small  share 
in  the  government. 

However,  the  Leislerians  soon  plucked  up  heart, 
and  appeared  once  more  in  public,  claiming  their 
fallen  chief  as  a  martyr,  and  troubling  their  foes 
for  a  generation  ere  they  gradually  lost  their  iden- 
tity and  became  merged  in  the  general  mass  of  the 
popular  party.  Though  this  element  of  the  popu- 
lation, owing  to  the  restricted  suffrage,  possessed 
less  than  its  due  weight  in  the  government,  yet  it 
always  had  allies  and  mouthpieces  in  the  Assem- 
bly. These  advocates  of  popular  rights  rarely 
made  a  fight  for  the  granting  of  political  power  to 
the  masses,  but  they  were  kept  busy  in  battling 
against  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown  and  the 
power  of  the  great  patroons  and  rich  merchants. 
For  the  next  three  quarters  of  a  century  the 
struggle  for  popular  rights  in  New  York  took  the 
form,  not  of  a  demand  for  democratic  government 
and  manhood  suffrage,  but  of  a  contest  waged  on 
behalf  of  the  men  of  small  property  against  the 
authority  of  a  foreign  monarchy  and  the  rule  of  a 
native  oligarchy. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  COLONIAL  SEAPORT.   1691- 
1720. 

FOR  three  quarters  of  a  century  after  the  col- 
lapse of  Leisler's  rebellion  the  internal  and 
external  politics  of  New  York  City  ran  in 
monotonous  grooves,  and  were  largely  merged  in 
those  of  the  province,  the  interests  of  the  town 
and  country  being  as  a  rule  identical.  There  was 
a  succession  of  long  wars  with  France,  the  New 
Yorkers,  like  the  other  English  colonists,  and  like 
England  herself,  soon  coming  to  look  upon  the 
French  as  their  hereditary  and  natural  foes.  This 
continuous  struggle  with  a  powerful  common 
enemy  was  a  potent  cause  in  keeping  the  colonists 
of  Manhattan,  like  those  of  the  rest  of  America, 
loyal  to  the  mother  country;  and  the  growth  of 
sentiments  and  interests  hostile  to  the  latter, 
though  steady,  was  unappreciated  even  by  the 
colonists  themselves.  Their  internal  politics  were 
marked  by  unceasing  struggles  in  the  Assembly, — 
struggles,  sometimes  between  the  aristocratic  and 
popular  factions,  sometimes  between  one  or  the 
other  or  both  of  these  factions  and  whoever  hap- 
pened for  the  time  to  represent  the  Crown.  The 
overthrow  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  had  resulted  in 

89 


90  New  York 

an  immense  gain  for  liberty,  and  for  free  and  or- 
derly government  in  New  York.  The  last  Stuart 
king  had  never  granted  the  liberties  he  had  prom- 
ised to  the  colonists;  but  by  his  successor  they 
were  immediately  given  in  full.  Hitherto  New 
York's  share  in  self-government  had  depended 
purely  on  the  pleasure  of  her  successive  rulers. 
Under  and  owing  to  William  of  Orange,  she  made 
the  first  noteworthy  advance  in  the  direction  of 
self-government  by  right,  irrespective  of  the  views 
of  the  royal  governor  who  might  be  over  her. 

Throughout  all  this  period  New  York  was  a  little 
seaport  town,  without  manufactures,  and  de- 
pendent upon  ocean  industries  for  her  well-being. 
There  was  little  inland  commerce ;  everything  was 
done  by  shipping.  The  merchants  were  engaged 
in  the  river  trade  with  Albany  and  the  interior,  in 
the  coast  trade  with  the  neighboring  colonies,  in 
the  fisheries,  and  in  the  sea  trade  with  England, 
Africa,  and  the  East  and  West  Indies.  Every  few 
years  there  occurred  a  prolonged  maritime  war 
with  either  France  or  Spain,  and  sometimes  with 
both.  Then  the  seas  were  scourged  and  the  coasts 
vexed  by  the  war-ships  and  privateers  of  the  hos- 
tile powers;  and  the  intervals  of  peace  were 
troubled  by  the  ravages  of  pirate  and  picaroon. 
Commerce  was  not  a  merely  peaceful  calling ;  and 
those  who  went  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  led  troub- 
lous lives. 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  91 

The  seafaring  folk,  or  those  whose  business  was 
connected  with  theirs,  formed  the  bulk  of  New 
York's  white  population.  The  poor  man  went  to 
sea  in  the  vessel  the  richer  man  built  or  owned  or 
commanded;  and  where  the  one  risked  life  and 
limb,  the  other  at  least  risked  his  fortune  and 
future.  Many  of  the  ventures  were  attended  with 
great  danger  even  in  times  of  peace.  Besides  the 
common  risks  of  storm  and  wreck,  other  and  pe- 
culiar perils  were  braved  by  the  ships  that  sailed 
for  the  Guinea  Coast,  to  take  part  in  the  profitable 
but  hideously  brutal  and  revolting  trade  for  slaves. 
The  traffic  with  the  strange  coast  cities  of  the  Red 
Sea  and  the  Indian  Ocean  likewise  had  dangers  all 
its  own.  Pirate  and  sultan  and  savage  chief  had 
all  to  be  guarded  against,  and  sometimes  out- 
witted, and  sometimes  outfought. 

Moreover,  the  New  York  merchants  and  sea- 
men were  themselves  ready  enough  to  risk  their 
lives  and  money  in  enterprises  where  the  profits 
to  be  gained  by  peaceful  trade  came  second,  and 
those  by  legal  warfare  or  illegal  plundering  first. 
In  every  war  the  people  plunged  into  the  business 
of  privateering  with  immense  zest  and  eagerness. 
New  York  Province  dreaded  the  Canadians  and 
Indians,  but  New  York  City  feared  only  the  fleets 
of  France ;  her  burghers  warred,  as  well  as  traded, 
chiefly  on  the  ocean.  Privateering  was  a  species 
of   gambling   which  combined  the  certainty  of 


92  New  York 

exciting  adventure  with  the  chance  of  enormous 
profit,  and  it  naturally  possessed  special  attrac- 
tions for  the  bolder  and  more  reckless  spirits. 
Many  of  the  merchants  who  fitted  out  privateers 
lost  heavily,  but  many  others  made  prizes  so  rich 
that  the  profits  of  ordinary  voyages  sank  into 
insignificance  by  comparison.  Spanish  treasure- 
ships,  and  French  vessels  laden  with  costly  stuffs 
from  the  West  Indies  or  the  Orient,  were  brought 
into  New  York  Harbor  again  and  again, — often 
after  fights  to  the  severity  of  which  the  battered 
hulls  of  both  the  captor  and  the  vanquished  vessel 
bore  unequivocal  testimony.  When  the  prize  was 
very  rich  and  the  crew  of  the  privateer  large,  the 
home-coming  of  the  latter  meant  a  riot;  for  in 
such  a  case  the  flushed  privateersmen  celebrated 
their  victory  with  wild  orgies  and  outrages,  and 
finally  had  to  be  put  down  by  actual  battle  in  the 
streets.  The  landowners  were  often  merchants 
as  well;  and  more  than  one  of  them  was  able  to 
flank  the  gateway  of  his  manor-house  with  the 
carved  prows  and  figure-heads  of  the  vessels  his 
own  privateers  had  captured. 

In  time  of  war  both  risk  and  profit  were  great, 
yet  they  were  but  little  less  in  the  short  periods  of 
peace,  or  rather  of  truce.  Under  the  system  of 
jealous  trade-exclusion  which  then  obtained,  each 
trader  was  a  possible  smuggler,  and  the  cruisers 
of  every  naval  power  were  always  harassing  the 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  93 

merchantmen  sailing  tinder  rival  flags.  Even  if  a 
vessel  did  not  smuggle,  she  was  liable  at  any 
moment  to  be  seized  on  the  pretext  that  she  was 
trying  to ;  and  so,  as  she  had  to  undergo  the  dan- 
gers in  any  event,  she  felt  no  reluctance  in  at- 
tempting to  gather  the  profits  when  occasion 
offered.  Again,  the  line  dividing  the  work  of  the 
privateer  from  the  work  of  the  pirate  was  easy  to 
overstep,  and  those  who  employed  the  one  were 
not  reluctant  at  times  to  profit  by  the  deeds  of  the 
other.  The  pirate  merely  continued  in  somewhat 
exaggerated  form  against  all  nations,  at  all  times, 
the  practices  which  the  privateer  employed  against 
certain  nations  at  certain  times.  There  were 
plenty  of  both  merchants  and  seamen  in  New 
York  who  failed  to  draw  any  nice  distinction 
between  the  two  classes  of  vessels ;  and  the  full- 
armed,  strongly  manned  trading-ship,  which  alone 
was  employed  in  the  more  perilous  water-paths  of 
commerce,  and  which  was  always  ready  to  do 
privateering  work  in  time  of  actual  war,  in  time 
of  peace  was  not  unapt  to  hoist  the  black  flag  for 
the  nonce  in  distant  seas,  or  at  least  to  barter 
freely  with  the  acknowledged  pirates.  The  slav- 
ers in  particular,  whose  crews  and  captains  were 
sure  to  be  rough,  hardened,  greedy  men,  wonted 
to  bloodshed  and  violence,  were  very  likely  to  turn 
pirate  as  occasion  offered ;  while  the  pirates  were 
equally  willing  to  engage  in  the  slave-trade,  and 


94  New  York 

to  sell  their  living  cargoes  to  the  regular  slavers,  or 
to  attack  the  latter,  as  circumstances  dictated. 
The  lawlessness  was  greatest  in  the  Oriental  seas. 
The  huge  Arab  and  Indian  coasters,  freighted  with 
rare  and  precious  stuffs,  were  sought  after  with 
furious  eagerness  by  both  pirate  and  privateer; 
while  the  former  also  swooped  down  on  the  Dutch 
and  English  East  Indiamen.  At  Madagascar  there 
was  a  regular  fort  and  station  to  which  some  of  the 
New  York  merchants  sent  ships  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  trading  with  the  pirate  vessels  who  carried 
their  ill-gotten  goods  thither.  Many  a  daring 
skipper  who  obeyed  the  law  fairly  well  in  Atlantic 
waters,  felt  free  to  do  as  he  wished  when  he  neared 
Madagascar,  or  cruised  through  the  Red  Sea  and 
the  Indian  Ocean.  The  rich  cargoes  of  Oriental 
goods,  the  spices,  perfumes,  silks,  shawls,  rugs, 
pearls,  and  golden  coin  and  jewels,  were  of  such 
value  that  men  did  not  care  to  ask  too  closely  how 
they  were  acquired.  There  were  plenty  of  ad- 
venturous young  New  Yorkers,  of  good  blood,  who 
were  themselves  privateer smen,  Red-Sea  men, 
or  slavers ;  and  in  the  throng  of  seafaring  men  of 
this  type,  the  crews  and  captains  of  the  pirate 
ships  passed  unchallenged.  The  taverns  and  low 
houses  along  the  water-front  of  the  little  seaport 
were  filled  with  wind-roughened  sailor-folk,  out- 
landish in  speech  and  dress,  wild  of  look,  black  of 
heart,  and  ripe  for  any  desperate  venture.     Their 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  95 

dare-devil  commanders  were  not  only  tolerated 
but  welcomed  as  guests  at  the  houses  of  many 
among  the  gentry  and  merchants,  who  had  them- 
selves in  one  way  or  another  gained  great  profit 
from  lawless  ocean  warfare.  Their  mad  freaks 
and  furious  orgies  and  carouses  made  them  the 
terror  of  quiet  people;  but  their  lavish  extrava- 
gance with  their  stores  of  strange  Spanish,  Indian, 
and  Arabian  coin  gave  them  also  a  certain  popu- 
larity. 

The  goods  brought  from  the  far  eastern  lands  by 
these  men,  and  by  their  fellow  sea-rovers  of  slightly 
stricter  morality,  gave  a  touch  of  quaint  luxury, 
and  their  own  presence  added  an  air  of  dash  and 
adventure,  to  the  life  of  the  growing  town  on 
Manhattan  Island.  There  was  a  suggestion  of  the 
Orient  and  of  hazardous  fortunes,  ill  made  and 
lightly  lost,  in  the  costly  goods  with  which  the  rich 
burghers  and  manorial  lords  decked  their  roomy 
houses,  and  clothed  themselves  and  their  wives. 
The  dress  of  the  time  was  picturesque;  and  the 
small  social  world  of  New  York,  as  haughty  and 
exclusive  after  its  own  fashion  as  any,  looked  le- 
niently on  the  men  whose  deeds  made  it  possible  for 
the  titled  Crown  officials,  and  the  untitled  leaders 
of  the  local  oligarchy,  alike,  to  go  clad  in  rich 
raiment.  More  than  one  sea-chief  of  doubtful  ante- 
cedents held  his  head  high  among  the  New  York 
people  of   position,  on  the  infrequent  occasions 


96  New  York 

when  he  landed  to  revel  and  live  at  ease,  while 
his  black-hulled,  rakish  craft  was  discharging  her 
cargo  at  the  wharves,  or  refitting  for  another 
mysterious  voyage.  The  grim-visaged  pirate  cap- 
tain, in  his  laced  cap,  rich  jacket,  and  short  white 
knee-trunks,  with  heavy  gold  chains  round  his 
neck,  and  jewel-hilted  dagger  in  belt,  was  a  strik- 
ing and  characteristic  feature  of  New  York  life  at 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Soon  after- 
ward the  boldness  and  the  serious  nature  of  the 
piratical  ravages  thoroughly  roused  the  home 
government,  which  made  resolute  efforts  to  stop 
them.  The  colonial  authorities  joined  to  hunt  the 
rovers  from  their  coasts;  and  though  the  men  of 
the  black  flag  continued  to  ply  their  trade  in  trop- 
ical seas,  they  never  after  that  time  appeared  in 
the  colonial  seaports  save  by  stealth. 

The  favor  shown  to  the  pirates  brought  scandal 
on  the  name  of  more  than  one  royal  governor  of 
New  York.  This  was  especially  the  case  with 
Gov.  Benjamin  Fletcher,  a  stout,  florid  soldier  of 
fortune,  who  came  over  to  take  control  in  1692, 
the  year  after  the  tragic  end  of  Leisler's  rebellion. 
He  possessed  both  energy  and  courage,  but  was 
utterly  unfitted  for  a  civil  post  of  such  difficulty 
as  that  to  which  he  was  now  appointed.  Being  a 
fawning  courtier  to  the  king,  he  naturally  took  a 
tone  of  insolent  command  in  dealing  with  the  col- 
ony.    Though  very  strict  in  religious  observances 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  97 

he  was  a  loose  liver,  fond  of  luxury,  and  of  extrava- 
gant habits ;  he  was  therefore  continually  in  want 
of  money,  and  both  he  and  some  of  his  council 
were  in  the  habit  of  receiving  valuable  gifts — 
amounting  to  blackmail — from  the  different  pirate 
ships.  Finally,  the  scandal  grew  so  great  that  he 
was  recalled. 

Other  causes,  however,  contributed  to  bring 
about  the  recall.  Fletcher  was  a  stanch  supporter 
of  the  colonial  aristocracy,  and  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  popular  party.  He  interfered  actively 
against  the  latter  in  the  elections  for  the  General 
Assembly,  and  helped  to  achieve  a  triumph  which 
was  largely  due  to  wholesale  intimidations, — for 
the  partisans  of  the  governor  and  the  richer  classes 
mobbed  their  opponents,  and  in  many  places  drove 
them  by  force  from  the  polling-booths.  He 
granted  the  public  lands  right  and  left,  doing  his 
best  to  divide  the  soil  of  the  province  among  a  few 
rich  families.  He  thus  sought  to  build  up  a  sys- 
tem of  gigantic  tenant-farmed  estates,  instead  of 
allowing  the  country  to  become  filled  with  small 
freehold  farmers.  He  also  connived  at  the  ac- 
quisition by  private  individuals  of  great  tracts  of 
land  from  the  Indians ;  and  his  grants  were  made 
to  ministers  and  churches  as  well  as  to  laymen. 
In  short,  his  whole  theory  was  to  depress  the  free- 
men of  small  means,  and  to  concentrate  power  and 
wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  Church  and  the 
7 


98  New  York 

aristocracy ;  and  according  to  his  capacities  he  was 
an  unwholesome  and  vicious  force  in  the  body 
politic. 

For  some  of  Fletcher's  acts,  however,  there  was 
at  least  much  excuse;  and  in  certain  of  the 
wrangles  in  which  he  became  engaged,  his  op- 
ponents behaved  no  better  than  he  did.  Thus, 
he  allowed  the  merchants  to  evade  the  iron  laws 
of  trade.  He  probably  winked  at  these  evasions, 
partly  from  dislike  of  trouble,  partly,  perhaps, 
from  worse  motives;  but  it  may  be  that  he  felt 
some  genuine  impatience  with  the  restrictions  by 
which  the  merchants  of  England  sought  to  hem 
in  the  growth  of  the  colonies  and  to  keep  their 
trade  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  ruling  country. 
As  regards  most  articles,  the  colonists  could  only 
trade  outright  with  England,  and  the  consequent 
loss  to  the  merchants  was  immense.  Of  course, 
such  a  system  put  a  premium  on  smuggling,  and, 
for  the  matter  of  that,  on  trading  with  pirates,  too, 
and  on  every  other  method  by  which  the  laws 
could  be  evaded.  Yet  these  same  laws  were  so  in 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  time  that  there  was 
little  open  protest  against  them,  though  they 
doubtless  contributed  to  the  growth  of  the  vague 
feeling  of  discontent  with  the  home  government 
which  gradually  crept  into  colonial  hearts.  On 
the  other  hand  the  Assembly,  or  popular  branch  of 
the  colonial  legislature,  was  always  striving  to 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  99 

throw,  as  nearly  as  might  be,  the  whole  burden  of 
colonial  defense  on  the  British  Crown  and  Parlia- 
ment; and  its  selfishness,  short-sightedness,  and 
very  moderate  ability,  together  with  its  unlimited 
capacity  for  ignoble  squabbling,  spake  but  ill  for 
the  body  of  electors  to  whose  suffrages  it  owed  its 
being.  The  different  colonies,  moreover,  cared 
not  a  jot  for  one  another's  misfortunes.  Well- 
settled,  thriving  New  England  was  quite  content 
to  let  thinly-settled,  struggling  New  York  get  on 
as  best  she  might  when  almost  overwhelmed  by 
the  Canadians  and  Indians.  The  Puritan  com- 
monwealths were  well  pleased  to  have  such  a 
buffer  between  them  and  French  aggression. 
They  looked  on  with  cold  and  selfish  indifference 
until  the  danger  was  brought  home  directly  to 
their  own  thresholds;  the  money-making  spirit 
was  as  yet  too  strong  in  their  breasts  to  leave  room 
for  more  generous  and  disinterested  emotions. 
Fletcher  spent  much  of  his  time  in  a  wordy  war- 
fare with  the  New  Englanders,  because  of  their 
desertion  of  New  York,  and  in  quarreling  with  the 
Assembly  of  the  latter  province  for  its  multifarious 
misdeeds,  and  especially  for  the  heinous  sin  of 
endeavoring  to  whittle  down  his  own  salary.  He 
was  recalled, to  England  early  in  1698. 

Fletcher's  successor  was  a  nobleman  of  strong 
and  high  character,  the  Earl  of  Bellomont, — a  man 
of  pure  life  and  strict  honor,  and  altogether  of  far 


ioo  New  York 

nobler  type  than  the  average  colonial  governor. 
He  belonged  to  that  limited  class  in  the  English 
aristocracy  which  combined  intense  pride  and 
exclusiveness  in  social  matters  with  a  genuine  be- 
lief in  popular  liberty  and  political  equality,  and  a 
dislike  of  privilege  and  privileged  castes.  He 
seems  to  have  clearly  seen  that  the  establishment 
in  New  York  of  an  oligarchy  such  as  Fletcher  and 
the  wealthy  citizens  in  general  dreamed  of,  meant 
injustice  to  the  mass  of  the  people  for  the  time 
being,  and  therefore  in  the  end  an  uprising,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  iniquitous  system  by  vio- 
lence. His  duty  appeared  to  him  plain;  and  he 
attacked  the  intrenched  evils  with  the  utmost  reso- 
lution. It  was  an  uphill  struggle,  for  the  most 
powerful  interests  of  the  colony  were  banded 
against  him ;  and,  moreover,  in  dealing  with  men 
his  tact  was  not  equal  to  his  courage  and  probity. 
Bellomont  at  once  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
Leislerians,  the  champions  of  the  common  people ; 
and  during  his  three  years'  rule  in  New  York  the 
popular  party  was  uppermost.  He  even  had  the 
bodies  of  Leisler  and  Milborne  disinterred  and 
buried  again  with  all  honor.  From  the  outset  he 
was  forced  into  an  unrelenting  war  on  many  of  the 
public  officials,  who  were  given  over  to  financial 
dishonesty  and  bribe-taking,  being  in  corrupt  col- 
lusion with  the  merchants,  pirates,  and  smugglers ; 
for  the  whole  governmental  service  had  become 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  101 

thoroughly  debauched.  He  enforced  the  laws  of 
trade  with  rigid  severity,  put  down  smuggling, 
and  checked  in  every  way  the  unscrupulous  greed 
of  the  great  merchants.  He  also  hunted  away  the 
pirates,  and  hung  those  whom  he  caught  in  chains 
on  the  different  headlands  of  the  coast ;  and  it  was 
while  engaged  in  this  pursuit  that  there  occurred 
the  curious  incident  of  his  connection  with  the 
famous  Captain  Kidd.  The  latter  was  a  daring 
seaman  who,  when  the  earl  first  knew  him,  bore  a 
good  character,  as  seafaring  characters  went,  and 
readily  fell  in  with  the  earl's  plans  for  pirate-hunt- 
ing. Finally  the  earl,  in  company  with  several 
other  English  noblemen,  and  with  one  New  Yorker, 
Livingston,  the  founder  of  a  line  of  manorial 
lords,  agreed  to  fit  out  Kidd  for  a  cruise  against 
the  pirates,  whose  haunts  he  well  knew.  All  were 
to  go  shares  in  whatever  plunder  might  be  ob- 
tained from  the  ships  of  the  captured  freebooters. 
Kidd's  proposed  enterprise  attracted  much  atten- 
tion, and  as  he  was  given  a  fine  bark  he  found  no 
difficulty  in  manning  her  with  a  crew  better  fitted 
for  warlike  than  peaceful  pursuits.  He  cruised 
after  pirates  for  some  time,  but  with  indifferent 
success;  whereupon  he  philosophically  turned 
pirate  himself,  and  became  one  of  the  scourges  of 
the  ocean.  He  still  haunted  the  New  York  and 
New  England  coast  at  times,  landing  in  out-of-the- 
way  havens,and  burying  his  blood-stained  treasure 


102  New  York 

on  lonely  beaches  and  islands;  and  finally  the 
earl  caught  his  backsliding  friend,  who  was  shortly 
afterward  hung  in  chains  at  Execution  Dock. 
The  peculiar  circumstances  attendant  upon  Kidd's 
turning  pirate  attracted  widespread  attention, 
though  his  exploits  were,  in  reality,  less  remark- 
able than  those  of  scores  of  other  freebooters.  He 
became  a  favorite  subject  for  ballads,  and  grad- 
ually grew  to  be  accepted  in  the  popular  mind  as 
the  archetype  of  his  kind ;  while  the  search  for  his 
buried  treasure,  having  been  successful  in  one  or 
two  instances,  became  almost  a  recognized  indus- 
try among  the  more  imaginative  of  the  dwellers 
by  the  sea. 

Bellomont  distinctly  perceived  the  vast  evils 
produced  by  the  system  of  huge  landed  estates; 
and  on  behalf  of  the  small  freeholders  he  fearlessly 
attacked  the  manorial  lords.  He  forfeited  such  of 
their  grants  as  he  considered  to  have  been  ille- 
gally secured ;  no  inconsiderable  number  when  the 
estates  fraudulently  purchased  from  the  Indians 
were  added  to  those  acquired  by  judicious  presents 
to  the  Crown  officials.  His  aim  was  ultimately  to 
establish  the  rule  that  no  one  estate  larger  than  a 
thousand  acres  should  be  permitted.  In  attack- 
ing laymen  he  did  not  spare  the  Church;  and  as- 
sailed alike  the  excessive  land-grants  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  clergy  and  the  Anglican  bodies.  His 
term  of  office  was  too  short  to  permit  him  to  put 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  103 

his  far-reaching  plans  into  execution;  neverthe- 
less, he  did  accomplish  something  of  what  he  was 
aiming  at. 

Naturally  Bellomont  aroused  the  intense  hos- 
tility of  all  the  powerful,  favored  classes  he  had 
attacked.  Almost  every  great  landowner  and 
rich  merchant,  every  corrupt  Crown  official,  every 
man  who  had  thriven  by  smuggling  and  by  wink- 
ing at  piracy,  assailed  him  with  venomous  anger. 
His  character  stood  so  high,  however,  that  these 
attacks  could  not  shake  him  in  the  esteem  of  the 
home  powers;  while  the  common  people  loved 
and  reverenced  him  exceedingly,  and  mourned 
him  with  bitter  regret  when  in  1701  he  died,  after 
a  short  rule  of  three  years. 

There  followed  a  period  of  the  utmost  confu- 
sion, the  Leislerian  and  aristocratic  factions  coming 
almost  to  civil  war ;  for  the  former  had  been  raised 
to  power  by  Bellomont,  but  now  lacked  his  re- 
straining hand,  and  feared  the  speedy  triumph  of 
the  oligarchy  under  some  new  governor.  The 
culminating  points  were  reached  in  the  trial  of  two 
of  the  aristocratic  leaders  for  alleged  treason,  and 
in  a  disorderly  election  for  aldermen  in  New  York. 
Both  parties  claimed  the  victory  in  this  election, 
the  voting  in  many  of  the  precincts  being  distin- 
guished by  the  most  flagrant  fraud;  and  all  the 
contending  aldermen  proceeded  to  try  to  take 
their  seats  at  the  same  time,  the  resulting  riot 


104  New  York 

being  ended  by  a  compromise.  In  1702,  when 
Queen  Anne  had  just  ascended  the  throne, 
her  nephew,  Lord  Cornbury,  came  out  as  gov- 
ernor. He  promptly  restored  order  by  putting 
down  the  Leislerians;  and  by  his  influence  the 
aristocracy  were  once  more  placed  in  power.  To 
say  truth,  the  popular  party,  by  its  violence,  and 
the  corruption  of  some  of  its  chiefs,  had  done  much 
to  forfeit  the  good-will  of  the  respectable  middle 
classes. 

Cornbury,  however,  did  the  democracy  a  good 
turn  by  forthwith  drowning  the  memory  of  its 
shortcomings  in  the  torrent  of  his  own  follies  and 
misdeeds.  He  was  very  nearly  an  ideal  example 
of  what  a  royal  governor  should  not  be.  He  was 
both  silly  and  wicked.  He  hated  the  popular 
party,  and  in  all  ways  that  he  could  he  curtailed 
the  political  rights  of  the  people.  He  favored  the 
manorial  lords  and  rich  merchants  as  against  the 
commonalty;  but  he  did  all  he  could  to  wrong 
even  these  favorites  when  it  was  for  his  own  in- 
terest to  do  so.  He  took  bribes,  very  thinly  dis- 
guised as  gifts.  He  was  always  in  debt,  and  was 
given  to  debauchery  of  various  kinds.  One  of  his 
amusements  was  to  masquerade  in  woman's  gar- 
ments, being,  of  all  things,  inordinately  proud  that 
when  thus  dressed  he  looked  like  Queen  Anne .  He 
added  bigotry  to  his  other  failings,  and  persecuted 
the  Presbyterians,  who  were  endeavoring  to  get 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  105 

a  foothold  in  the  colony;  he  imprisoned  their 
ministers  and  confiscated  their  little  meeting- 
houses. In  this  respect,  however,  he  was  but  a 
shade  worse  than  the  men  he  ruled  over;  for  the 
Assembly  had  passed  a  law  condemning  to  death 
all  Catholic  priests  found  in  the  colony, — a  law 
of  which  the  wickedness  was  neither  atoned  for 
nor  justified  by  the  fact  that  the  same  measure  of 
iniquity  was  meted  out  to  the  Protestants  in  the 
countries  where  the  Catholics  had  control.  He 
appropriated  to  other  uses  the  moneys  furnished 
by  the  Assembly  to  put  New  York  harbor  into  a 
state  of  defense;  the  result  being  that  a  French 
war-ship  once  entered  the  lower  bay  and  threw  the 
whole  city  into  terror.  Finally,  the  citizens  of  all 
parties  became  so  exasperated  against  him  as  to 
clamorously  demand  his  removal,  which  was 
granted  in  1708;  but  before  he  left  the  colony  he 
had  been  thrown  into  prison  for  debt.  In  dealing 
with  him  the  Assembly  took  very  high  ground  in 
regard  to  the  right  of  the  colony  to  regulate  its 
own  affairs,  insisting  on  the  right  of  the  popular 
branch  of  the  government  to  fix  the  taxes,  and  to 
appoint  most  of  the  public  officers  and  regulate 
their  fees.  Resolutions  of  this  character  show 
that  during  the  score  of  years  which  had  elapsed 
since  the  downfall  of  the  Stuarts,  the  colony  had 
made  giant  strides  toward  realizing  its  own  rights 
and  powers.     With  all  their  faults,  the  Leislerians 


106  New  York 

had  done  good  service  in  arousing  the  desire  for 
freedom,  and  in  teaching  men — if  often  only  by- 
painful  example  and  experience — to  practise  the 
self-restraint  which  is  as  necessary  as  self-confi- 
dence to  any  community  desirous  of  doing  its  own 
governmental  work. 

After  a  couple  of  years  of  practical  interregnum, 
New  York  received  another  governor,  one  Robert 
Hunter,  whose  term  lasted  until  1720.  He  was  a 
wise  and  upright  man,  who  did  justice  to  all, 
though,  if  anything,  favoring  the  popular  party. 
But  the  personality  of  the  governor  was  rapidly 
becoming  of  less  and  less  consequence  to  New 
York  as  the  city  and  province  grew  in  size.  The 
condition  of  the  colony  and  the  policy  of  the  Brit- 
ish King  and  Parliament  were  the  really  important 
factors  of  the  problem. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  great  influx  of  Ger- 
mans from  the  Rhine  provinces.  They  were  poor 
peasants  who  had  fled  from  before  the  French 
armies ;  and  while  most  went  on  into  the  country, 
a  considerable  number  remained  in  New  York,  to 
add  one  more  to  the  many  elements  in  its  popu- 
lation. As  they  were  ignorant  and  poverty- 
stricken,  the  colonists  of  English,  Dutch,  and 
Huguenot  blood  looked  down  on  and  despised 
them,  not  wholly  without  reason.  One  feature  of 
the  settlement  of  America  is  that  each  mass  of 
immigrants  feels  much  distrust  and  contempt  for 


Growth  of  the  Seaport  107 

the*  mass — usually  of  a  different  nationality — 
which  comes  a  generation  later.  Presbyterians 
from  Scotland  and  Ireland  began  to  straggle  in, 
were  allowed  to  build  a  church,  and  got  a  firm  foot- 
hold. There  was  an  insurrection  of  negro  slaves, 
of  which  more  anon. 

The  city  was  growing  slowly.  English,  Dutch, 
and  Huguenot  names  succeeded  one  another  in  the 
mayoralty,  showing  that  there  was  no  attempt  on 
the  part  of  one  race  to  exclude  the  others  from 
their  share  of  political  power.  The  mass  of  the 
people  were  not  very  well  off,  and  grudged  taxes ; 
the  annual  expenditure  of  the  city  government  was 
only  about  £300  and  was  covered  by  the  annual 
income.  The  Assembly  was  already  dabbling  in 
paper  money,  and  it  had  been  found  necessary  to 
pass  poor-laws,  and  authorize  the  arrest  of  street 
beggars. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  1720-1764. 

IN  1 7 10  New  York  City  contained  some  6,000 
inhabitants,  in  1750  over  12,000,  and  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution  about  20,000. 
It  was  a  smaller  town  than  either  Boston  or  Phila- 
delphia, with  a  society  far  less  democratic,  and 
divided  by  much  sharper  lines  of  caste.  Stran- 
gers complained,  then  as  now,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
say  what  a  typical  New  Yorker  was,  because  New 
York's  population  was  composed  of  various  races, 
differing  widely  in  blood,  religion,  and  conditions 
of  life.  In  fact,  this  diversity  has  always  been  the 
dominant  note  of  New  York.  No  sooner  has  one 
set  of  varying  elements  been  fused  together  than 
another  stream  has  been  poured  into  the  crucible. 
There  probably  has  been  no  period  in  the  city's 
growth  during  which  the  New  Yorkers  whose 
parents  were  born  in  New  York  formed  the  ma- 
jority of  the  population ;  and  there  never  has  been 
a  time  when  the  bulk  of  the  citizens  were  of  Eng- 
lish blood. 

All  this  is  in  striking  contrast  to  what  has  gone 
on  in  some  other  American  cities,  as,  for  instance, 
Boston.  Colonial  Boston  was  a  Puritan  English 
town,  where  the  people  were  in  all  essentials  won- 

108 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period        109 

derfully  like  one  another.  New  York,  however, 
never  was  really  an  English  town,  and  its  citizens 
always  differed  radically  among  themselves  in 
morals,  manners,  and  physical  well-being,  no  less 
than  in  speech,  blood,  and  creed.  From  time  to 
time  new  ethnic  elements  have  made  their  appear- 
ance, but  the  change  has  been  not  from  one  race  to 
another,  but  from  one  mixture  of  races  to  another. 

Of  course  there  are  very  sharp  points  of  contrast 
other  than  those  of  mere  size  and  growth  between 
colonial  New  York  and  the  New  York  of  the 
United  States.  The  three  leading  religious  de- 
nominations of  the  present  United  States  had  but 
small  and  scanty  followings  in  colonial  times.  In 
New  York,  just  prior  to  the  Revolution,  the  Meth- 
odists and  Baptists  had  but  a  small  meeting- 
house apiece,  and  the  handful  of  Catholics  no 
recognized  place  of  worship  whatever ;  whereas  at 
the  present  day  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  form 
the  two  leading  and  characteristic  denominations 
in  the  country  districts  of  America,  while  Cathol- 
icism has  forged  to  the  front  in  the  cities. 

In  eighteenth-century  New  York  both  the 
Quakers  and  Jews  had  places  of  worship.  The 
Germans  had  one  Lutheran  and  one  Calvinistic 
Church;  but  the  German  pre-revolutionary  im- 
migrants did  not  produce  many  men  of  note,  and 
their  congregations  remained  small  and  unpro- 
gressive,  their  young  men  of  spirit  drifting  off  to 


no  New  York 

other  churches  as  they  learned  English.  The 
Presbyterian  congregations,  on  the  other  hand, 
throve  apace,  in  spite  of  the  petty  and  irritating 
persecution  of  the  Episcopalians.  They  received 
many  recruits  from  the  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish 
immigrants;  and  to  a  man  they  were  all  zealous 
upholders  of  popular  rights,  and  truculently  de- 
fiant toward  Great  Britain.  The  Irish  of  that  day 
were  already  a  prominent  element  of  New  York 
life;  but  they  were  Presbyterians,  not  Catholics. 
They  celebrated  Saint  Patrick's  day  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  their  toasts  to  Ireland  and  America, 
together  with  their  scarcely  veiled  hostility  to 
England,  would  not  be  out  of  place  on  similar  oc- 
casions at  present ;  but  some  of  their  other  toasts, 
such  as  those  to  the  memory  of  King  William  and 
to  the  Protestant  succession,  would  scarcely  ap- 
peal to  a  Milesian  patriot  nowadays. 

The  Huguenots  were  assimilated  more  easily 
than  any  other  element  of  the  population,  and 
produced  on  the  whole  the  highest  grade  of  citi- 
zens. By  the  middle  of  the  century  the  Holland- 
ers likewise  had  begun  to  speak  English.  It  was 
the  official  language  of  the  colony,  and  the  young 
men  of  push,  who  wished  to  make  their  mark  in 
the  world,  had  to  learn  it  in  order  to  succeed.  The 
conservative  men,  the  sticklers  for  old  ways  and 
customs,  clung  obstinately  to  Dutch;  and  the 
consequence  was  that  the  energetic  young  people 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         m 

began  to  leave  the  Dutch  churches,  and  to  join  the 
Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  congregations  in 
constantly  increasing  numbers, — doing  exactly 
what  we  see  being  done  by  the  Scandinavian  and 
German  Lutherans  in  portions  of  the  Northwest 
at  the  present  day.  The  drain  was  so  serious  that 
in  1764,  as  the  only  means  of  putting  a  stop  there- 
to, it  was  decided  to  hold  the  church  services  in 
both  English  and  Dutch;  and  forty  years  after- 
ward Dutch  was  entirely  abandoned.  These 
measures  arrested  the  decay  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  and  prevented  its  sharing  the  fate 
of  total  extinction  which  befell  the  Swedish  Luth- 
eran bodies  on  the  Delaware;  but  they  were  not 
taken  in  time  to  prevent  the  church  from  falling 
much  behind  the  place  which  it  should  have  occu- 
pied, taking  into  account  the  numbers,  intelli- 
gence, and  morality  of  its  members, — for  through- 
out the  colonial  period  the  Dutch  remained  the 
largest  of  the  many  elements  in  New  York's  popu- 
lation. 

As  the  wealthy  Dutch  and  Huguenot  families 
assimilated  themselves  to  the  English,  they  inter- 
married with  them,  and  in  many  cases  joined  the 
Episcopal  Church;  though  a  considerable  num- 
ber, especially  among  those  whose  affiliations  were 
with  the  popular  party,  remained  attached  to  one 
or  the  other  of  the  Calvinist  bodies.  The  Epis- 
copal Church — or,  as  it  was  then  the  Church  of 


ii2  New  York 

England — was  the  fashionable  organization,  the 
one  to  which  the  Crown  officials  belonged,  and  the 
center  round  which  the  court  party  rallied.  Among 
its  members  were  to  be  found  most  of  the  influen- 
tial people, — the  manorial  lords  and  large  mer- 
chants, who  controlled  the  affairs  of  the  colony, 
and  were  the  social  and  political  leaders.  It 
claimed  to  be  in  a  sense  the  State  Church,  and  had 
many  immunities  and  privileges ;  and  as  far  as  it 
could,  though  only  in  petty  fashion,  it  oppressed 
the  dissenting  bodies, — notably  the  Presbyterians, 
who  were  not,  like  the  Huguenots  and  Hol- 
landers, protected  by  treaty.  When  King's  Col- 
lege, now  Columbia,  was  founded  by  the  colony, 
it  was  put  under  the  control  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  was  made  in  a  small  way  a  seat  of 
Tory  feeling.  The  various  Protestant  bodies  were 
all  filled  with  sour  jealousy  of  one  another,  and 
were  only  united  in  cordial  hatred  of  the  Roman- 
ists, to  whom  they  forbade  entrance  into  the  col- 
ony; and  though  they  tolerated  the  presence  of 
the  Jews,  they  would  not  for  some  time  let  them 
vote. 

Social  lines  were  very  strongly  marked, — the 
intensely  aristocratic  make-up  of  the  town  being 
in  striking  contrast  to  the  democratic  equality 
typical  of  a  young  American  city  of  the  same  size 
nowadays.  The  manorial  lords  stood  first  in  rank 
and  influence,  and  in  the   respect    universally 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         113 

accorded  them.  They  lived  at  ease  in  the  roomy 
mansions  on  their  great  tenant-farmed  estates; 
and  they  also  usually  owned  fine  houses  in  either 
New  York  or  Albany,  and  sometimes  in  both. 
Their  houses  were  really  extremely  comfortable, 
and  were  built  with  a  certain  stately  simplicity  of 
style  which  contrasted  very  favorably  with  the 
mean  or  pretentious  architecture  of  most  New 
York  buildings  dating  back  to  the  early  or  middle 
portions  of  the  present  century.  They  were  filled 
with  many  rooms,  wherein  a  host  of  kinsmen, 
friends,  and  retainers  might  dwell ;  and  they  had 
great  halls,  broad  verandas,  heavy  mahogany- 
railed  staircases,  and  huge  open  fireplaces,  which 
in  winter  were  crammed  with  roaring  logs.  The 
furniture  was  handsome,  but  stiff  and  heavy;  the 
books  were  few;  and  there  were  masses  of  silver 
plate  on  the  sideboards  of  the  large  dining-rooms. 
The  gentry  carried  swords,  and  dressed  in  the 
artificial,  picturesque  fashion  of  the  English  upper 
classes;  whereas  the  commonalty  went  about 
their  work  in  smocks  or  leather  aprons.  Near 
Trinity  Church  was  the  '  'mall,"  or  promenade  for 
the  fashionable  set  of  the  little  colonial  town.  By 
an  unwritten  law  none  but  the  members  of  the 
ruling  class  used  it ;  and  on  fine  afternoons  it  was 
filled  with  a  gayly  dressed  throng  of  young  men  and 
pretty  girls,  the  latter  attended  by  their  negro 
waiting-maids.  Prominent  in  the  crowd,  were  the 
8 


ii4  New  York 

scarlet  coats  of  the  officers  from  the  English  regi- 
ments, constantly  quartered  in  New  York  because 
of  the  recurring  French  wars.  The  owners  of 
these  coats  moved  with  an  air  of  easy  metropolitan 
superiority,  a  certain  insolently  patronizing  con- 
descension, which  always  awakened  both  the  ad- 
miration and  the  jealous  anger  of  the  provincial 
aristocrats.1  The  leading  colonial  families  stood 
on  the  same  social  plane  with  the  English  country 
gentlemen  of  wealth,  and  were  often  connected 
by  marriage  with  the  English  nobility;  but  they 
could  never  forget — and  were  never  permitted  by 
their  English  friends  to  forget — that  after  all  they 
were  nothing  but  provincials,  and  that  provincials 
could  not  stand  quite  on  an  equality  with  the  old- 
world  people. 

The  New  York  gentry,  both  of  town  and  coun- 

1  European  travelers  naturally  enough  often  failed  to  under- 
stand the  aristocratic  constitution  of  the  New  York  social  and 
governmental  systems.  The  local  aristocrats  seemed  to  them 
uncouth  and  provincial;  they  were  struck  by  the  fact  that 
they  were  often  engaged  in  trade  or  other  occupations  which 
gentlemen  were  forbidden  to  enter  by  the  European  social 
code;  and  they  saw  that  it  was,  of  course,  much  easier  than 
in  the  Old  World  for  a  man  of  energy  to  rise  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest  round  of  the  social  ladder,  no  matter  what  his 
origin  was.  The  aristocracy  existed  nevertheless.  So  to  a 
London  noble,  Squire  Western  seemed  only  a  boor,  and  he 
cordially  hated  all  lords  in  return;  yet  Squire  Western  and 
his  fellows  formed  at  home  a  true  oligarchy.  And  the  con- 
stitution of  the  rude  country  society  in  which  he  lived  was  as 
emphatically  aristocratic  as  was  that  of  the  capital  of  England. 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         115 

try,  were  fond  of  horse-racing,  and  kept  many  well- 
bred  horses.  They  drove  out  in  chariots  or  huge 
clumsy  coaches  with  their  coats  of  arms  blazoned 
on  the  panels, — the  ship  of  the  Livingstons,  the 
lance  of  the  De  Lanceys,  the  burning  castle  of  the 
Morrises,  and  the  other  armorial  bearings  of  the 
families  of  note  being  known  to  all  men  through- 
out the  province.  On  a  journey  the  gentry  either 
went  by  water  in  their  own  sloops  or  else  in  these 
coaches,  with  liveried  postilions  and  outriders; 
and  when  one  of  the  manorial  lords  came  to  town, 
his  approach  always  caused  much  excitement,  the 
negroes,  children,  and  white  work-people  gather- 
ing to  gaze  at  the  lumbering,  handsomely  painted 
coach,  drawn  by  four  huge  Flemish  horses,  the 
owner  sitting  inside  with  powdered  wig  and  cocked 
hat,  scarlet  or  somber  velvet  coat,  and  silver- 
hilted  sword.  In  the  town  itself  sedan  chairs  were 
in  common  use.  There  was  a  little  theater  where 
performances  were  given,  now  by  a  company  of 
professional  actors,  and  again  by  the  officers  of  the 
garrison  regiments ;  and  to  these  performances  as 
well  as  to  the  balls  and  other  merrymakings  the 
ladies  sometimes  went  in  chariots  or  sedan  chairs, 
and  sometimes  on  their  own  daintily  shod  feet. 
The  people  of.  note  usually  sent  their  negro  ser- 
vants, each  dressed  in  the  livery  of  his  master,  in 
advance  to  secure  good  seats.  There  was  much 
dancing  and  frolicking,  besides  formal  dinners  and 


u6  New  York 

picnics ;  sailing  parties,  and  in  winter  skating  par- 
ties and  long  sleigh  rides  were  favorite  amuse- 
ments ;  all  classes  took  part  eagerly  in  the  shooting 
matches.  The  dinners  were  rather  heavy  enter- 
tainments, with  much  solemn  toast-drinking ;  and 
they  often  ended  with  boisterous  conviviality, — 
for  most  of  the  men  drank  hard,  and  prided  them- 
selves on  their  wine  cellars.  Christmas  and  New 
Year's  day  were  great  festivals,  the  latter  being 
observed  in  Dutch  fashion, — the  gentlemen  calling 
at  all  the  houses  of  their  acquaintance,  where  they 
feasted  and  drank  wine.  Another  Dutch  festival 
of  universal  observance  was  Pinkster,  held  in  the 
springtide.  It  grew  to  be  especially  the  negroes' 
day,  all  of  the  blacks  of  the  city  and  neighboring 
country  gathering  to  celebrate  it.  There  was  a 
great  fair,  with  merrymaking  and  games  of  all 
kinds  on  the  Common,  where  the  City  Hall  park 
now  is ;  while  the  whites  also  assembled  to  look  on, 
and  sometimes  to  take  part  in  the  fun.  Most  of 
the  house  servants  were  negro  slaves. 

The  people  of  means  sometimes  had  their  chil- 
dren educated  at  home,  and  sometimes  sent  them 
to  the  little  colleges  which  have  since  become 
Columbia  and  Princeton, — colleges  which  were 
then  inferior  to  a  good  English  grammar  school. 
Occasionally  the  very  wealthy  and  ambitious  sent 
their  boys  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  where  the 
improved  opportunities  for  learning  were  far  more 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         117 

than  counterbalanced  by  the  fact  that  the  boy 
was  likely  to  come  back  much  less  fitted  than  his 
home-staying  brother  to  play  a  man's  part  in  the 
actual  work  of  American  life.  The  true  colonial 
habit  of  thought,  the  deference  for  whatever  came 
from  the  home  country,  whether  rank  or  title, 
fashion  or  learning,  was  nearly  universal,  although 
the  bolder  and  more  independent  spirits  were  al- 
ready beginning  to  assume  an  attitude  of  protest 
against  it.  In  truth  it  was  very  easy  to  get  opin- 
ions ready-made  from  the  Old  World,  while  it  was 
hard  work  to  fashion  them  out  originally  from  the 
raw  material  ready  at  hand  in  the  New.  New 
Yorkers  had  as  yet  been  given  little  opportunity 
for  deep  thought  or  weighty  action.  Provincial 
politics  offered  but  a  cramped  and  narrow  field  for 
vigorous  intellects ;  and  to  the  native  New  Yorker, 
war  held  no  higher  possibilities  than  the  leadership 
in  a  dashing  foray  against  the  Canadians  and 
Indians,  or  the  captaincy  in  a  successful  cruise 
among  French  and  Spanish  merchantmen.  There 
was  no  home  literature  worthy  of  the  name,  and 
little  chance  for  its  immediate  development;  and 
art  was  not  much  better  off. 

The  New  York  merchants  and  smaller  landed 
proprietors  stood  next  to  the  great  manorial  fami- 
lies; they  mixed  with  them  socially,  and  often 
married  among  them,  following  their  lead  in  mat- 
ters political.  The  merchants  lived  in  comfortable 


u8  New  York 

brick  or  stone  houses,  and  owned  large  ware- 
houses and  stores  of  every  description.  Many  of 
them  had  great  gardens  round  their  homes;  for 
New  York  was  still  but  a  little  country  town. 
Nevertheless,  as  the  years  went  by,  its  growth, 
sluggish  at  first,  became  more  and  more  rapid. 
Coffee-houses  were  started;  there  were  good  inns 
for  the  wealthy,  and  taverns  for  the  poorer;  and 
there  were  schools,  a  poorhouse,  and  a  jail. 

Next  to  the  merchants  came  the  middle  class, — 
the  small  freeholders  with  whom  the  suffrage 
stopped  short.  They  were  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
voters,  and  in  political  contests  generally  followed 
the  banner  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  great  families, 
from  whom  they  were  separated  by  a  deep  social 
gulf.  Then  came  the  class  of  free  workmen ;  and 
below  these, — though  as  years  went  by,  merging 
into  them, — the  very  distinct  class  of  unfree 
whites,  the  imported  bond-servants,  redemption- 
ers,  apprentices,  and  convicts,  who  had  been  sent 
to  the  colonies.  These  were  by  no  means  all  crim- 
inals and  paupers,  though  very  many  such  were 
included  among  them.  Some  were  honest,  poor 
men,  who  could  not  get  a  living  at  home,  and  had 
no  money  wherewith  to  go  abroad ;  and  these  were 
regularly  sold  for  a  term  of  years  to  make  good 
their  passage  money.  They  were  of  many  na- 
tionalities,— English,  Irish,  and  Germans  predom- 
inating, though  there  were  some  Scotch,  Welsh, 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         119 

and  Swiss.  On  the  arrival  of  a  ship  containing 
them,  they  were  usually  duly  advertised,  the 
occupation — as  tradesman,  farmer,  or  laborer — 
for  which  they  were  best  fitted  being  specified,  and 
were  then  immediately  sold  at  auction  into  what 
was  simply  slavery  for  a  limited  period;  and  as 
they  were  sometimes  harshly  treated  they  were 
very  prone  to  run  away.  Judging  by  the  adver- 
tisements in  the  colonial  newspapers  the  runaway 
white  bond-servants  were  almost  as  numerous  as 
the  runaway  slaves.  After  their  term  of  service 
was  over,  some  of  them  became  honest,  hard- 
working citizens,  while  the  others  swelled  the 
ranks  of  the  idle,  vicious,  semi-criminal  class,  clus- 
tering in  the  outskirts  and  alleys  of  the  town.  As 
a  whole,  this  species  of  immigrant  was  very  harm- 
ful, and  added  a  most  undesirable  element  to  the 
population.  It  may  well  be  doubted  if  relatively 
to  our  total  numbers,  we  have  had  any  class  of 
immigrants  during  the  present  century  which  as  a 
class  was  so  bad ;  and  indeed  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
in  proportion,  eighteenth-century  New  York  had 
quite  as  much  vice  and  vicious  poverty  within  its 
limits  as  the  present  huge  city;  and  most  of  the 
vice  and  poverty  among  the  whites  was  due  to  this 
importation  of  bond-servants  and  convicts. 

The  negro  slaves  formed  a  very  large  portion  of 
the  town's  population, — at  times  nearly  half, — 
for  over  a  century  after  it  was  founded ;  then  they 


120  New  York 

gradually  began  to  dwindle  in  numbers  compared 
to  the  whites,  for  although  they  were  retained  as 
household  servants,  it  was  found  that  they  were 
not  fitted  for  manual  and  agricultural  labor,  as  in 
the  southern  colonies.  During  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  they  were  still  very  numerous, 
and  were  for  the  most  part  of  African  birth,  being 
fresh  from  the  holds  of  the  Guinea  slavers;  they 
were  brutal,  ignorant  savages,  and  the  whites  were 
in  constant  dread  of  a  servile  insurrection.  In 
1 7 1 2  this  fear  was  justified,  at  least  partially,  for 
in  that  year  the  slaves  formed  a  wild,  foolish  plot 
to  destroy  all  the  whites ;  and  some  forty  of  them 
attempted  to  put  it  into  execution.  Armed  with 
every  kind  of  weapon,  they  met  at  midnight  in  an 
orchard  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  set  fire  to  a 
shed,  and  assaulted  those  who  came  running  up  to 
quell  the  flames.  In  this  way  they  killed  nine 
men  and  wounded  some  others,  before  the  alarm 
was  given  and  the  soldiers  from  the  fort  approach- 
ing, put  them  to  flight.  They  fled  to  the  forests 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  island ;  but  the  militia, 
roused  to  furious  anger,  put  sentries  at  the  fords, 
and  then  hunted  down  the  renegade  negroes  like 
wild  beasts.  Six,  in  their  despair,  slew  them- 
selves; and  twenty-one  of  those  who  were  cap- 
tured were  shot,  hung,  or  burned  at  the  stake. 

This  attempted  revolt  greatly  increased  the  un- 
easiness of  the  white  inhabitants,  and  was  largely 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period        121 

responsible  for  the  ferocious  panic  of  fear,  rage, 
and  suspicion  into  which  they  were  thrown  by  the 
discovery  of  another  plot  among  the  negroes  in 
1 741.  During  this  panic  the  citizens  went  almost 
mad  with  cruel  terror,  and  did  deeds  which  make 
a  dark  stain  on  the  pages  of  New  York's  history, — 
deeds  which  almost  parallel  those  done  in  the  evil 
days  of  the  Salem  witchcraft  persecutions,  save 
that  in  the  New  York  case  there  really  was  some 
ground  for  the  anger  and  resentment  of  the  per- 
secutors. Exactly  how  much  ground  there  was, 
however,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  many  of  the  slaves,  especially  among 
those  of  African  birth,  were  always  vaguely  hoping 
for,  and  perhaps  planning  for,  the  destruction  of 
their  masters,  and  that  some  of  the  bolder  and 
more  brutal  spirits  did  actually  indulge  in  furtive 
incendiarism,  outrage,  and  attempted  murder; 
but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  blacks  were  ever  engaged  in  the  plot, 
or  that  there  was  ever  any  real  danger  of  a 
general  outbreak.  Slave-owners,  however,  live 
always  under  the  hair-hung  sword;  they  know 
that  they  can  take  no  risks,  and  that  their  very 
existence  depends  on  the  merciless  suppression  of 
every  symptom.of  hostile  discontent. 

During  March,  1741,  there  broke  out  in  New 
York  so  many  fires  in  quick  succession,  that  it 
seemed  certain  they  were  of  incendiary  origin ;  and 


122  New  York 

the  conduct  of  a  few  of  the  slaves  greatly  excited 
the  suspicions  of  the  citizens.  At  the  same  time 
the  indented  servant-girl  of  a  low  tavern-keeper 
had  been  arrested,  together  with  her  master  and 
mistress  and  two  negroes,  for  complicity  in  a  rob- 
bery. Proclamations  offering  rewards  to  whom- 
ever would  give  information  concerning  the  sup- 
posed plot  were  read  to  her,  and  she  suddenly 
professed  herself  aware  of  its  existence.  She  as- 
serted that  her  master  and  mistress  and  a  number 
of  the  poor,  semi-criminal  whites,  together  with  a 
multitude  of  blacks,  were  all  engaged  therein ;  and 
many  of  the  ignorant  slaves  when  arrested  strove 
in  their  terror  to  save  their  own  necks  by  corrob- 
orating and  embellishing  all  the  wild  statements 
she  made.  The  whole  of  New  York  went  into  a 
mad  panic,  and  scores  of  people  were  imprisoned 
and  put  to  death  on  the  strength  of  these  flimsy 
accusations.  Fourteen  negroes  were  burned  at 
the  stake,  twenty  hanged,  and  seventy-one  trans- 
ported ;  while  of  the  twenty  whites  who  were  im- 
prisoned, four  were  executed.  Among  the  latter 
was  a  Catholic  priest  named  Ury,  who  was  con- 
demned both  for  complicity  in  the  negro  plot  to 
burn  the  town,  and  for  having  committed  the 
heinous  crime  of  administering  the  rites  of  his  re- 
ligion; and  on  the  double  count,  although  as  far 
as  appears  without  a  shred  of  damaging  evidence 
being  produced  against  him,  the  unfortunate  man 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         123 

was  actually  hung,  protesting  his  innocence  to  the 
last.1  This  added  the  touch  of  cruel  religious 
bigotry  which  alone  was  wanting  to  complete  the 
gloom  of  the  picture.  At  last,  glutted  with  vic- 
tims, the  panic  subsided,  leaving  behind  it  the 
darkest  page  in  our  annals. 

Besides  this  tragedy,  the  political  struggles  of 
colonial  New  York  in  the  eighteenth  century  seem 
of  small  importance;  yet  there  was  one  incident 
worthy  of  note,  because  it  involved  the  freedom 
of  the  press.  The  first  newspaper  published  in  the 
city  was  a  small  weekly,  started  in  1725,  under  the 
name  of  the  New  York  Gazette.  It  was  the 
organ  of  the  governor  and  aristocratic  or  court 
party.  Nine  years  later  a  rival  appeared  in  the 
shape  of  the  Weekly  Journal  edited  by  a  Ger- 
man immigrant  named  Zenger,  and  from  the  start 
avowedly  the  organ  of  the  popular  party.  The 
royal  governor  at  the  time  was  a  very  foolish  per- 
son named  Cosby,  appointed  on  the  theory  which 
then  obtained,  to  the  effect  that  a  colonial  gov- 
ernorship was  to  be  used  as  a  place  for  pensioning 
off  any  court  favorite  otherwise  unprovided  for, 
without  reference  to  the  result  of  his  appointment 
upon  the  colony.  He  possessed  a  genius  for  petty 
oppression,  which  marked  him  for  the  especial 
hatred  of  the  people.     Zenger  published  a  con- 

1  It  is  barely  possible  that  Ury  was  a  non-juring  Episco- 
palian priest  instead  of  a  Catholic. 


124  New  York 

stant  succession  of  lampoons,  ballads,  and  attacks 
on  all  the  Crown  officials,  the  governing  class,  and 
finally  even  on  Cosby  himself.  He  was  arrested 
and  thrown  into  jail  on  the  charge  of  libel;  and 
the  trial,  which  occupied  most  of  the  summer  of 
1735,  attracted  great  attention.  The  chief-jus- 
tice at  the  time  was  one  of  the  Morrises,  who  be- 
longed to  the  popular  party;  and  as  he  was  sus- 
pected of  leaning  to  Zenger's  side,  he  was  turned 
out  of  office  and  replaced  by  one  of  the  De  Lan- 
ceys,  the  stoutest  upholders  of  the  Crown.  De 
Lancey  went  to  the  length  of  disbarring  Zenger's 
lawyers,  so  that  he  had  to  be  defended  by  one 
imported  from  Philadelphia.  But  the  people  at 
large  made  Zenger's  cause  their  own,  and  stood  by 
him  resolutely;  while  every  ounce  of  possible 
pressure  and  influence  from  the  Crown  officials 
was  brought  to  bear  against  him.  The  defense 
was  that  the  statements  asserted  to  be  libellous 
were  true.  The  attorney-general  for  the  Crown 
took  the  ground  that  if  true  the  libel  was  only  so 
much  the  greater.  The  judges  instructed  the  jury 
that  this  was  the  law ;  but  the  jury  refused  to  be 
bound,  and  acquitted  Zenger.  The  acquittal, 
which  definitely  secured  the  complete  liberty  of 
the  press,  was  hailed  with  clamorous  joy  by  the 
mass  of  the  population ;  and  it  gave  an  immense 
impetus  to  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  independ- 
ence.    From  this  time  on,  the  two  parties  were 


Closing  of  Colonial  Period         125 

much  more  sharply  defined  than  before.  The 
court  party,  the  faction  of  the  Crown  officials  and 
of  the  bulk  of  the  local  aristocracy,  included  most 
of  the  Episcopalians  and  many  of  the  Hollanders 
and  Huguenots,  while  the  rest  of  the  population, 
including  the  Presbyterians,  formed  the  popular 
party.  The  former  often  styled  themselves  To- 
ries, and  the  latter  Whigs,  in  imitation  of  the  two 
English  parties.  Each  faction  was  under  the 
leadership  of  a  number  of  the  great  landed  fami- 
lies ;  for  even  in  the  ranks  of  the  popular  party  the 
voters  still  paid  reverence  to  the  rich  and  powerful 
manorial  lords.  These  great  families  were  all 
connected  by  marriage,  and  were  all  split  up  by 
bitter  feuds  and  political  jealousies.  The  De 
Lanceys  held  the  headship  of  the  court,  and  the 
Livingstons  of  the  popular  party ;  and  the  contest 
took  on  so  strongly  personal  a  color  that  these  two 
families  almost  gave  their  names  to  the  factions 
with  which  they  were  respectively  identified  as 
leaders. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  UNREST  BEFORE  THE  REVOLUTION.  1 764-1 7  74. 

NO  sooner  was  the  long  succession  of  French 
wars  closed  by  the  conquest  of  Canada, 
than  American  history  entered  on  a  new 
stage.  Hitherto  the  contests  had  been  waged 
between  European  powers  for  the  possession  of  the 
various  colonies,  both  the  interests  and  the  efforts 
of  these  colonies  being  of  secondary  importance. 
From  this  time  on,  however,  the  American  settle- 
ments became  themselves  the  chief  factors  in 
solving  the  problems  of  their  own  future,  and  the 
questions  of  policy  hinged  on  the  issues  between 
them  and  the  mother  country. 

The  colonial  system,  which  at  this  time  was 
common  to  all  seafaring  European  nations,  was 
essentially  vicious,  and  could  not  possibly  last 
when  the  colonies  grew  in  strength.  England  did 
not  treat  her  colonies  exceptionally  ill;  on  the 
contrary,  she  behaved  much  better  toward  them 
than  the  other  European  nations  of  that  day  did 
to  theirs.  If  she  had  not  done  so,  the  revolt 
against  her  power  would  have  come  far  sooner; 
for  no  other  nation  had  planted  beyond  the  seas 
such  a  race  of  freemen  as  was  growing  up  on  the 
North  Atlantic  coast  of  America.     They  came 

126 


Before  the  Revolution  127 

from  a  people  long  accustomed  to  a  considerable 
measure  of  liberty,  and  all  their  surroundings  in 
their  new  home  tended  to  foster  an  independent 
and  self-reliant  spirit.  They  would  not  have  tol- 
erated a  despotism  like  that  of  France  or  Spain 
for  a  day ;  and  it  was  inevitable  that  they  would 
eventually  try  to  throw  off  even  England's  milder 
yoke,  unless  she  adopted  a  course  of  colonial  policy 
which  was  at  that  time  understood  by  none  but 
the  most  far-seeing  or  lofty-minded.  Nor,  indeed, 
is  it  certain  that  the  colonists  themselves,  split  up 
as  they  were  by  their  province  lines  into  jarring 
fragments,  would  have  been  capable  of  appreciat- 
ing and  profiting  by  such  a  course  of  colonial  pol- 
icy, even  had  the  mother  country  adopted  it. 

The  European  theory  of  a  colony  was  that  it 
was  planted  by  the  home  government  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  home  government  and  home  people,  not 
for  the  benefit  of  the  colonists  themselves.  Hardly 
any  one  grasped  the  grandeur  of  the  movement  by 
which  the  English-speaking  race  was  to  spread 
over  the  world's  waste  spaces,  until  a  fourth  of  the 
habitable  globe  was  in  its  hands,and  until  it  became 
the  mightiest  race  on  which  the  sun  has  ever  shone. 
Those  in  power  did  not  think  of  the  spread  of  a 
mighty  people,  and  of  its  growth  by  leaps  and 
bounds,  but  of  the  planting  of  new  trading-posts ; 
they  did  not  realize  the  elementary  fact  that  if  the 
men  who  stretch  abroad  the  race  limits  by  settle- 


128  New  York 

ment  and  conquest  are  to  be  kept  one  with  those 
who  stay  at  home,  they  must  be  granted  an  equal 
share  with  the  latter  in  administering  the  common 
government.  The  colony  was  held  to  be  the  prop- 
erty of  the  mother  country, — property  to  be  pro- 
tected and  well  treated  as  a  whole,  but  property 
nevertheless.  Naturally  the  colonist  himself  was 
likewise  held  to  occupy  a  similar  position  com- 
pared to  the  citizen  of  the  home  country.  The 
Englishman  felt  himself  to  be  the  ruler  and  su- 
perior of  the  American ;  and  even  though  he  tried 
to  rule  wisely,  and  meant  to  act  well  toward  the 
colonists,  the  fact  remained  that  he  considered 
them  his  inferiors,  and  that  his  scheme  of  govern- 
ment distinctly  recognized  them  as  such.  The 
mere  existence  of  such  a  feeling,  and  its  embodi- 
ment in  the  governmental  system,  warranted  a 
high-spirited  people  in  revolting  against  it. 

Of  course  the  colonists  on  their  part  did  much 
that  was  blamable  also.  They  would  rarely  make 
any  sustained  effort  to  help  themselves  if  they 
could  persuade  England  to  make  it  for  them. 
They  knew  she  warred  for  their  interest  because  it 
was  her  interest  to  do  so;  and  they  were  glad  to 
throw  on  her  shoulders  as  much  as  possible  of  the 
burden  of  their  defense.  The  colonial  armies  per- 
formed some  notable  feats  of  warfare;  and  for  a 
short  campaign  the  colonies  were  always  willing 
to  furnish  thousands  of  stout  and  vigorous  though 


Before  the  Revolution  129 

ill-disciplined  soldiers.  But  they  hated  to  pay 
their  bills;  they  would  never  make  provision  for 
any  sustained  effort,  nor  carry  through  any  far- 
reaching  policy ;  they  were  impatient  of  restraint ; 
and  they  wrangled  perpetually  among  themselves. 
As  a  result,  their  parsimony,  greed,  and  selfish- 
ness, and  their  jealousy  of  one  another,  caused 
them  at  times — in  spite  of  some  heroic  actions — to 
cut  but  sorry  figures  in  the  struggles  with  France. 
They  swindled  and  overcharged  the  very  troops 
sent  out  to  protect  them;  and  their  legislatures 
could  with  difficulty  be  persuaded  to  vote  suf- 
ficient money  to  prosecute  the  wars  with  proper 
vigor.  New  York  was  vitally  interested  in  seeing 
Canada  cowed  and  the  French  intrigues  among 
the  Indians  definitely  stopped ;  yet  the  New  York 
Assembly  insisted  that  the  whole  expense  of  the 
conquest  of  Canada  ought  to  come  on  the  mother 
country.  New  England  looked  on  unmoved  when 
the  French  merely  raided  on  New  York ;  and  New 
York  sold  arms  to  the  savages  who  attacked  New 
England.  All  the  provinces  were  dependent  on 
the  British  fleets  for  the  defense  of  their  open  sea- 
board and  widely  scattered  trade;  but  doubtless 
feeling  that  both  trade  and  seaboard  were  men- 
aced by  foes  that  were  primarily  foes  to  Britain, 
not  to  America,  they  evinced  no  inclination  to  do 
their  share  in  paying  for  the  navy  to  which  they 
trusted.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  said  that 
9 


130  New  York 

the  citizens  were  much  readier  with  their  lives  than 
their  purses;  and  though  they  did  not  share  the 
expense  of  England's  fleets,  they  furnished  in  the 
last  colonial  war  nearly  twenty  thousand  of  the 
seamen  who  manned  them. 

However,  admitting  all  that  can  be  urged 
against  them  does  not  alter  the  fact — by  none 
more  freely  conceded  than  by  English  historians 
nowadays — that  on  the  main  question  the  muti- 
nous provinces  were  in  the  right.  They  were  in 
many  ways  well  treated,  but  they  were  never 
treated  as  equals,  and  they  were  sometimes  treated 
badly.  They  needed  and  wished,  not  mingled 
favors  and  injuries,  but  justice.  There  were 
many  public  men  in  England  who  strove  to  do 
right  by  the  colonies ;  but  there  were  very  many 
others  who  looked  on  their  dependencies  purely 
from  the  standpoint  of  British  interest.  When  in 
the  warfare  of  factions  and  parties  the  latter 
wielded  the  power  of  government,  they  were  cer- 
tain to  produce  such  intense  irritation  in  the  minds 
of  Americans  that  even  the  non-fulfilment  of  their 
plans  or  the  return  of  the  friends  of  America  to 
power,  could  not  allay  the  ill  feeling.  There  were 
numerous  English  statesmen  of  high  rank  and 
great  influence  who  avowedly  wished  to  check  and 
hamper  the  growth  of  the  colonies;  who  desired 
to  stop  the  westward  march  of  the  settlers,  and  to 
keep  the  continent  beyond  the  Alleghanies  as  a 


Before  the  Revolution  131 

hunting-ground  whereon  savages  might  gather 
furs  for  British  traders ;  who  forbade  the  building 
up  of  American  manufactures,  and  strove  to  keep 
the  seaboard  towns  as  trading-posts  for  the  sole 
benefit  of  British  merchants.  The  existence  of 
such  statesmen,  and  the  ever-recurring  probability 
of  their  taking  the  control  of  affairs,  rendered  it 
impossible  for  Americans  to  retain  their  loyalty 
to  the  home  government.  It  is  hard  at  the  pres- 
ent time  to  realize  how  totally  the  theories  of  colo- 
nization and  of  colonial  possessions  have  changed ; 
and  it  was  our  own  Revolution,  and  the  struggles 
which  followed  in  its  train  that  changed  them. 
It  is  owing  to  the  success  of  the  United  States  that 
Australia  and  Canada  of  to-day  are  practically 
independent  countries  as  regards  their  internal 
concerns  and  their  external  relations  with  other 
nations  in  time  of  peace.  The  fiercest  reactionary 
in  Britain  would  not  now  dream  of  asking  Aus- 
tralians and  Canadians  to  submit  to  regulations  to 
which  even  the  most  truculent  American  patriot 
never  thought  of  objecting  before  the  Revolution. 
For  the  colonists  were  so  used  to  the  yoke  that 
though  they  grew  restless  under  it,  they  only 
dumbly  knew  it  galled  them,  and  could  not  tell 
exactly  where.  They  submitted  quietly  to  some 
forms  of  oppression  which  really  amounted  to 
heavy  indirect  taxation  in  the  interest  of  British 
merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  then  revolted 


132  New  York 

at  a  very  small  direct  impost,  on  the  ground  that 
there  should  be  no  taxation  without  represen- 
tation; and  all  the  while  they  were  objecting  al- 
most as  strenuously  to  paying  their  share  of  cer- 
tain perfectly  proper  expenditures  undertaken  in 
their  interest  by  the  home  country.  The  truth 
was  that  they  were  revolting  against  the  whole 
system,  which  they  dimly  felt  to  be  wrong  before 
they  were  able  to  formulate  their  reasons  for  so 
feeling ;  the  particular  acts  of  oppression  of  which 
they  complained  were  the  occasions  rather  than 
the  causes  of  the  outbreak.  The  reasons  for  dis- 
content had  existed  for  many  years,  and  their 
growth  kept  steady  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
colonies.  The  French  and  Spanish  wars  had  kept 
them  in  the  background,  all  other  matters  being 
swallowed  up  by  the  stress  of  the  struggle  with  the 
common  enemy ;  but  as  soon  as  Canada  was  con- 
quered, and  the  outside  pressure  taken  off,  the 
questions  between  the  mother  country  and  the 
colonies  became  of  the  first  importance,  and  speed- 
ily showed  signs  of  producing  an  open  rupture. 

In  truth,  the  rupture  was  as  beneficial  as  it  was 
necessary, — always  assuming  that  the  alternative 
was  the  continuance  of  the  old  colonial  system. 
Had  England's  King  and  Parliament  been  guided 
by  the  most  far-seeing  statesman,  and  had  causes 
of  irritation  been  avoided,  and  a  constantly  in- 
creasing measure  of  liberty  and  participation  in 


Before  the  Revolution  133 

the  government  allowed  the  colonists,  it  may  have 
been  that  the  empire  would  have  been  kept  to- 
gether. The  revolt  of  America  was  not  one  of 
those  historic  events  which  are  inevitable  and 
foreordained,  and  in  no  way  to  be  averted ;  wise 
statesmanship,  and  a  temper  in  the  British  people 
willing  to  correspond,  might  have  prevented  it. 
But  as  the  conditions  actually  were,  it  was  a  bene- 
fit. The  acceptance,  by  both  sides,  of  the  theory 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  mother  country  was  quite 
enough  to  dwarf  the  intellectual  and  moral  growth 
of  the  colonies.  The  "colonial"  habit  of  thought 
is  a  very  unfortunate  one.  The  deferential  mental 
attitude  toward  all  things  connected  with  the  old 
country,  whether  good  or  bad,  merely  because 
they  are  connected  with  the  old  country,  is  in- 
compatible with  free  and  healthy  development. 
No  colonist  will  ever  do  good  original  work  so  long 
as  he  thinks  of  the  old  country  as  "home."  The 
mere  fact  that  he  so  thinks,  prevents  his  reaching 
the  first  rank  as  an  American  or  Canadian  or  Aus- 
tralian, as  the  case  may  be,  and  yet  entirely  fails 
to  make  him  even  a  second-rate  Englishman.  If 
the  men  who  stay  at  home  and  the  men  who  settle 
new  lands  can  continue  members  of  the  same  na- 
tion, on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality,  this  is  the 
best  possible  outcome  of  the  situation;  and  the 
highest  task  of  statesmen  is  to  work  out  some  such 
solution.     But  if  one  party  must  remain  inferior 


134  New  York 

to  the  other,  it  is  in  the  end  better  that  they  should 
separate,  great  though  the  evils  of  separation  be. 
It  is  of  incalculable  advantage  to  Oregon  and 
Texas,  no  less  than  to  New  York  and  Virginia,  to 
be  members  of  the  mighty  Federal  Union;  but 
this  is  because  the  citizens  of  all  four  States  stand 
on  precisely  the  same  footing.  If  Texas  and  Ore- 
gon were  not  given  the  full  rights  of  the  original 
thirteen  commonwealths,  freely  and  without  the 
least  reserve,  it  would  be  better  for  them  to  stand 
alone.  But  in  reality  we  have  become  so  accus- 
tomed to  the  new  system  that  we  do  not  conceive 
of  the  possibility  of  any  failure  to  grant  such 
rights.  The  feeling  of  equality  among  the  differ- 
ent commonwealths  is  genuine  and  universal. 
The  difference  in  their  ages  never  occurs  to  any 
one  as  furnishing  a  ground  for  a  feeling  of  superior- 
ity or  the  reverse ;  it  does  not  enter  at  all  into  the 
jealousies  between  the  different  States  or  sections. 
The  fact  that  the  new  communities  are  offshoots 
of  the  old  is  never  taken  into  account  in  any  way 
whatever.  This  feeling  now  seems  to  us  part  of 
the  order  of  Nature;  and  its  very  universality  is 
apt  to  blind  us  to  the  immense  importance  of  the 
struggle  by  which  it  was  firmly  established  as  a 
principle.  Until  the  Revolution,  it  may  almost 
be  said  to  have  had  no  recognized  existence  at  all. 
In  every  colony  outside  of  New  England  and 
Virginia    there    was    a   large    Tory   party;   and 


Before  the  Revolution  135 

nowhere  was  it  relatively  larger  than  in  New  York. 
The  peculiarly  aristocratic  structure  of  New  York 
society  had  a  very  great  effect  upon  the  revo- 
lutionary movement,  which  took  on  a  twofold 
character,  being  a  struggle  for  America  against 
England  on  the  one  hand,  and  an  uprising  of  the 
democracy  against  the  local  oligarchy  on  the  other. 
The  lowest  classes  of  the  population  cared  but 
little  for  the  principles  of  either  party ;  and  sided 
with  one  or  the  other  accordingly  as  their  tem- 
porary interests  or  local  feuds  and  jealousies  in- 
fluenced them.  They  furnished  to  both  Whigs 
and  Tories  the  scoundrels  who  hung  in  the  wake 
of  the  organized  armies,  hot  for  plunder  and  mur- 
der,— the  marauders  who  carried  on  a  ferocious 
predatory  warfare  between  the  lines  or  on  the 
Indian  frontier,  and  who  took  advantage  of  the 
general  disorder  to  wreak  their  private  spites  and 
rob  and  outrage  the  timid,  well-to-do  people  of 
both  sides,  with  impartial  brutality.  A  large 
number  of  the  citizens,  possibly  nearly  half,  were 
but  lukewarm  adherents  of  either  cause.  Among 
them  were  many  of  the  men  of  means,  who  were 
anxious  to  side  with  the  winners,  and  feared  much 
to  lose  their  possessions,  and  a  still  greater  number 
of  men  who  were  too  indifferent  and  cold-hearted, 
too  deficient  in  patriotism  and  political  morality  to 
care  how  the  affair  was  decided.  Among  them  were 
many  men  also  who  were  of  ultra-conservative 


136  New  York 

mind,  not  yet  far  enough  advanced  in  that 
difficult  school  which  teaches  how  to  combine  a 
high  standard  of  personal  liberty  with  a  high 
standard  of  public  order.  The  bulk  of  the 
intelligent  working-classes,  the  most  truly  Ameri- 
can members  of  the  colonial  body  politic,  formed 
also  the  bulk  of  the  popular  party.  Here  also  all 
the  Presbyterians  and  the  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Dutch  Reformed  and  Huguenot  con- 
gregations naturally  found  their  proper  place. 
Very  many  of  the  gentry  also  belonged  to  it ;  and 
it  was  led  by  some  of  the  great  families, — the 
Livingstons,  Schuylers,  and  others, — including 
all  those  whose  pride  of  caste  was  offset  by  their 
belief  in  freedom,  or  was  overcome  by  their  pro- 
found Americanism,  when  caste  and  country  came 
into  conflict.  Most  of  the  Episcopalian  clergy 
and  the  majority  of  their  flocks,  as  well  as  a  mi- 
nority of  the  Dutch  Reformed  congregations, 
belonged  to  the  court  party,  as  did  the  greater 
portion  of  the  local  aristocracy,  led  by  the  De 
Lanceys,  De  Peysters,  and  Philippses,  and  by 
the  Johnsons,  who  ruled  the  Mohawk  Valley  in 
half -savage,  half -feudal  state. 

Of  course  the  lines  between  these  various  classes 
were  not  drawn  sharply  at  the  outset.  In  the 
beginning  very  few,  even  of  the  most  violent  ex- 
tremists among  the  Whigs  dared  to  hint  at  inde- 
pendence ;  while  scarcely  any  of  the  most  bigoted 


Before  the  Revolution  137 

Tories  upheld  the  Crown  and  the  Parliament  in  all 
their  doings.  The  power  lay  in  the  hands  of  the 
moderate  men,  who  did  not  wish  for  extreme 
measures,  until  the  repeated  blunders  and  aggres- 
sions of  the  king  and  his  advisers  exasperated  the 
people  at  large  beyond  the  possibility  of  restraint. 
The  ablest  and  purest  leaders  of  the  New  York 
patriots  during  the  Revolution — men  like  Schuy- 
ler, Jay,  Morris,  and  Hamilton — disliked  mob- 
violence  as  much  as  they  hated  tyranny,  and  felt 
no  sympathy  with  the  extremists  of  their  own 
party.  An  English  statesman  like  Chatham,  or 
an  English  statesman  like  Walpole,  might  have 
held  these  men,  and  therefore  the  American  colo- 
nies, to  their  allegiance.  But  the  necessary 
breadth  and  liberality  were  lacking,  possibly  in 
the  temper  of  the  age  itself,  certainly  in  the  temper 
of  King  George  and  his  ministers.  They  perse- 
vered in  their  course,  offering  concessions  only 
when  the  time  they  would  have  been  accepted  was 
past.  Then  the  break  came,  and  the  moderate 
men  had  to  choose  the  side  with  which  they  wished 
to  range  themselves;  and  after  some  misgivings 
most  of  them — and  the  best  of  them — put  love 
of  their  country  above  loyalty  to  their  king,  and 
threw  in  their  lot  with  the  revolutionary  party. 
However,  not  a  few  of  the  leading  families  divided, 
sending  sons  into  both  camps. 

When  in  1765  the  Stamp  Act  was  passed  by  the 


138  New  York 

British  Parliament,  the  popular  party  held  the 
control  of  the  New  York  legislature.  Accordingly 
among  all  the  colonial  legislatures  New  York's 
stood  foremost  in  stout  assertion  of  the  right  of  the 
colonies  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  liberty,  and  in 
protest  against  taxation  without  representation. 
The  New  York  newspapers  were  especially  fervid 
in  denouncing  the  law,  while  the  legislature  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  correspond  concerning  the 
subject  with  the  legislative  bodies  of  the  other 
colonies.  Finally  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  met 
in  New  York,  nine  of  the  thirteen  colonies  being 
represented,  and  voted  a  Declaration  of  Rights 
and  an  Address  to  the  King.  But  the  people  them- 
selves, acting  through  the  suddenly  raised,  and 
often  secret  or  semi-secret,  organizations,  took 
more  effective  measures  of  protest  than  either 
congress  or  legislature.  The  most  influential  of 
these  societies  was  that  styled  the  "Sons  of  Lib- 
erty"; all  of  them  were  raised  in  the  first  place 
with  an  excellent  purpose,  and  numbered  in  their 
ranks  many  stanch  and  wise  patriots,  but  like  all 
such  organizations  they  tended  to  pass  under  the 
control  of  men  whose  violence  better  fitted  them 
to  raise  mobs  than  to  carry  through  a  great  revo- 
lution. 

The  arrival  in  New  York  of  the  first  ship  bearing 
a  cargo  of  the  hated  stamps  produced  intense  ex- 
citement.    The  merchants  met  in  a  tavern  and 


Before  the  Revolution  139 

signed  a  non-importation  agreement,  in  order  to 
retaliate  on  the  British  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers. The  mob  inclined  to  rougher  measures; 
colonial  New  York  was  always  a  turbulent  little 
town,  thanks  especially  to  the  large  number  of 
seafaring  folk  among  its  inhabitants.  The  sailors 
had  an  especial  antipathy  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
garrison,  and  rows  between  them  were  frequent; 
with  more  reason,  they  hated  the  press-gangs  of 
the  British  frigates,  and  often  interfered  to  save 
their  victims,  with  the  result  of  producing  actual 
riots,  wherein  bludgeons  and  cutlasses  were  freely 
used.  This  known  turbulence  of  the  townsfolk 
alarmed  both  the  acting  governor,  Colden, — a 
loyal,  obstinate,  narrow-minded  man — and  the 
commander  of  the  troops  in  garrison,  General 
Gage.  As  the  time  for  putting  the  Stamp  Act  in 
force  drew  near,  the  governor  took  refuge  in  the 
fort  on  the  south  end  of  Manhattan  Island,  which 
was  ostentatiously  put  in  good  condition,  while 
the  troops  were  made  ready  for  instant  action.  It 
was  hoped  that  these  open  preparations  would 
awe  the  city ;  but  they  produced  only  irritation. 

The  act  was  to  go  into  effect  on  November  1, 
and  the  ship  carrying  the  stamps  hove  in  sight  on 
October  2*3.  A  couple  of  war  vessels  escorted  it  to 
a  safe  anchorage  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  while 
the  flags  on  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  were  half- 
masted  as  a  sign  of  grief  and  defiance,  and  a  huge 


140  New  York 

crowd  of  New  Yorkers  gathered  on  the  wharves 
with  every  sign  of  rebellious  anger.  In  the  night, 
placards  signed  "Vox  Populi"  and  "  We  dare"  were 
posted  all  over  town,  threatening  the  persons  and 
property  of  whoever  dared  use  the  stamps;  and 
the  feeling  was  so  violent  and  universal  that  not 
even  the  boldest  attempted  to  meddle  with  the 
forbidden  paper.  November  i  was  ushered  in  by 
the  tolling  of  muffled  bells ;  in  the  evening  a  crowd 
gathered,  under  the  lead  of  a  band  of  the  Sons  of 
Liberty.  The  radical  men  were  in  control;  and 
after  some  inflammatory  speech-making  the  gov- 
ernor was  hung  in  effigy  on  the  common.  Not 
satisfied  with  this,  the  crowd  marched  down  to  the 
fort,  headed  by  a  sailor  carrying  another  effigy  of 
the  governor  in  a  chair  on  his  head ;  and  this  they 
proceeded  to  burn  on  the  Bowling  Green,  under 
the  guns  of  the  fort,  hammering  at  the  gates  of  the 
latter  and  yelling  defiance  at  the  garrison.  By 
this  time  they  had  gotten  past  all  control,  and  not 
only  broke  into  the  governor's  stable  and  burned 
his  chariot,  but  also  sacked  the  house  of  the  major 
of  one  of  the  garrison  regiments,  a  man  whom 
they  regarded  as  particularly  obnoxious.  Other 
houses  were  also  attacked. 

The  moderate  men,  including  all  the  leaders  who 
afterward,  when  the  real  strain  came,  showed  gen- 
uine ability,  utterly  disapproved  of  this  mob-vio- 
lence  and   lawlessness;  and   by   their   energetic 


Before  the  Revolution  141 

conduct  they  succeeded  in  staving  off  for  the 
moment  further  action  by  the  mob,  which  was 
much  emboldened  by  the  lack  of  resistance.  Soon, 
however,  the  populace  became  once  more  worked 
up  to  the  pitch  of  violence  by  the  taunts  and  ha- 
rangues of  the  radical  leaders, — hot-headed  men 
of  small  capacity  and  much  energy,  part  patriot 
and  part  demagogue.  They  threatened  to  assault 
the  fort ;  and  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  to  prevent 
civil  war,  earnestly  besought  the  governor  to  give 
them  the  stamps  for  safe  keeping.  The  humili- 
ation of  such  a  course  was  at  first  too  much  for  the 
governor;  but  neither  he  nor  the  commander-in- 
chief,  General  Gage,  possessed  the  iron  temper 
fitted  to  grapple  with  such  an  emergency.  After 
some  delay  they  yielded,  and  surrendered  the 
stamps  to  the  municipal  authorities,  while  the 
people  at  large  celebrated  their  victory  with  wild 
enthusiasm,  and  felt  a  natural  contempt  for  the 
government  they  had  overcome.  The  tyranny 
which  imposes  an  unjust  law,  and  then  abandons 
the  effort  to  enforce  it  for  fear  of  mob-violence  is 
thoroughly  despicable.  The  least  respectable 
form  of  oppression  is  that  which  is  constantly 
miscalculating  its  own  powers,  and  is  never  quite 
able  to  make  up  its  own  mind. 

However,  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  pro- 
duced such  universal  satisfaction  in  America 
that  all  outward  signs  of  disloyalty  to  the  Crown 


142  New  York 

disappeared  completely.  New  York  received  a 
new  governor  who  behaved  with  such  wisdom  and 
moderation,  and  showed  such  a  conciliatory  dis- 
position, that  the  royalist  or  court  party  revived 
in  full  strength.  In  the  struggle  over  the  legis- 
lative elections  of  1768,  they  won  a  complete  vic- 
tory, led  by  the  De  Lanceys, — the  Livingston  or 
popular  party  being  in  a  decided  minority  in  the 
Assembly.  It  was  this  legislature,  elected  in  the 
moment  of  reaction,  that  was  in  session  when  the 
Revolution  broke  out ;  and  it  lagged  so  far  behind 
the  temper  of  the  people  that  it  was  finally  set 
aside,  and  the  initial  work  of  the  Revolutionary 
government  committed  to  various  improvised 
bodies. 

In  their  joy  over  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  the 
citizens  erected  a  monument  to  King  George, — 
which  the  American  soldiers  pulled  down  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Revolution,  receiving  in  conse- 
quence a  severe  rebuke  from  Washington,  who 
heartily  despised  such  exhibitions  of  childish  spite. 

Even  during  these  years  of  comparative  loyalty, 
however,  there  was  plenty  of  unrest  and  disturb- 
ance. There  was  perpetual  wrangling  over  the 
Billeting  Act,  by  which  Parliament  strove  to  force 
the  colonists  to  pay  for  the  troops  quartered  in 
their  midst;  an  act  concerning  which  there  was 
something  to  be  said  on  both  sides.  If  England 
was  to  assume  the  burden  of  the  common  defense, 


Before  the  Revolution  143 

she  had  to  quarter  her  troops  in  the  colonial  towns, 
and  it  seemed  fair  that  the  colonists  should  pay  for 
their  quarters.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  colonists 
were  not  consulted  in  the  matter,  and  if  they  were 
forced  to  pay  for  troops  sent  among  them  in  time 
of  peace,  when  no  foreign  enemy  was  to  be  feared, 
it  looked  much  as  if  they  were  being  made  to  sup- 
port the  very  force  that  was  to  keep  them  in  sub- 
jection. On  the  whole,  the  colonists  were  right  in 
objecting  to  the  presence  of  the  troops  in  time  of 
peace  except  on  their  own  terms;  although  they 
thereby  estopped  themselves  from  insisting  that 
the  mother  country  should  do  more  than  its  share 
in  protecting  them  in  time  of  war.  If,  of  two  par- 
ties, one  raises  the  army  for  common  defense,  the 
other  cannot  expect  to  have  much  to  say  about  its 
disposal. 

The  British  troops  in  garrison  naturally  dis- 
liked the  townsfolk,  on  whom  in  turn  their  mere 
presence  acted  as  an  irritant.  The  soldiers  when 
out  of  barracks  and  away  from  the  control  of  their 
officers  were  always  coming  into  collision  with  the 
mob,  in  which  the  seafaring  element  was  strong; 
and  the  resulting  riots  not  infrequently  involved 
also  the  respectable  mechanics  and  small  traders, 
and  even  the  merchants  and  gentry.  The  great 
source  of  quarrel  was  the  liberty  pole.  This  had 
been  erected  on  the  anniversary  of  the  king's  birth, 
June  6,  1766,  to  celebrate  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 


144  New  York 

Act ;  there  was  a  great  barbecue  on  the  occasion, — 
an  ox  being  roasted  whole  on  the  common, — 
while  hogsheads  of  punch  and  ale  were  broached, 
bonfires  were  lit,  and  amid  the  booming  of  cannon 
and  pealing  of  bells  a  flag  was  hoisted  with  the 
inscription,  "The  King,  Pitt,  and  Liberty," — the 
colonists  being  enthusiastically  devoted  to  then- 
two  great  parliamentary  champions,  Pitt  and 
Burke. 

The  liberty  pole  was  an  eyesore  to  the  soldiers  in 
the  fort,  and  its  destruction  or  attempted  destruc- 
tion became  one  of  their  standing  pastimes.  Sev- 
eral times  they  succeeded,  usually  when  they  sal- 
lied out  at  night;  and  then  the  liberty  pole  was 
chopped  down  or  burnt  up.  The  townsfolk, 
headed  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  always  gathered 
to  the  rescue.  If  too  late  to  save  the  pole,  they 
put  up  another  one,  and  stood  guard  over  it ;  if  in 
time  to  attempt  a  rescue,  a  bloody  riot  followed. 
In  the  latter  part  of  January,  1770,  parties  of 
soldiers  and  townsfolk  fought  a  series  of  pitched 
battles  in  the  streets,  the  riot  lasting  for  two  days. 
It  began  by  a  successful  surprise  on  the  part  of  the 
soldiers,  who  cut  down  the  pole  early  one  morning. 
The  townsfolk  held  an  indignation  meeting  and 
denounced  vengeance  on  the  soldiers,  who  retal- 
iated by  posting  derisive  placards  on  the  walls  of 
the  fort  and  public  buildings.  A  series  of  skir- 
mishes ensued  in  which  heads  were  broken,  and 


Before  the  Revolution  145 

men  cut  and  stabbed, — the  soldiers  being  usually 
overcome  by  numbers,  all  of  the  working-men  and 
every  sailor  in  town  swarming  out  to  assail  the 
redcoats.  Some  of  the  hardest  righting  occurred 
when  a  troop  of  soldiers  attacked  a  number  of 
sailors,  who  were  rescued  by  some  of  the  Liberty 
Boys  who  had  been  playing  ball  on  the  Common. 
Several  persons  were  badly  injured,  and  in  one 
scuffle  a  sailor  was  thrust  through  with  a  bayonet, 
and  slain;  after  which  his  comrades,  armed  with 
bludgeons,  drubbed  the  soldiers  into  their  bar- 
racks. The  upshot  was  that  the  townsfolk  were 
victorious,  and  the  liberty  pole  was  not  again  mo- 
lested. 

This  was  the  first  bloodshed  in  the  struggle 
which  culminated  in  the  Revolution.  It  occurred 
six  weeks  before  the  so-called  '  'Boston  Massacre," 
— an  incident  of  the  same  kind,  in  which,  however, 
the  Americans  were  much  less  clearly  in  the  right 
than  they  were  in  the  New  York  case.  Even  in 
New  York  the  soldiers  had  doubtless  been  sorely 
provoked  by  the  taunts  and  jeers  of  the  towns- 
men ;  but  there  was  absolutely  no  justification  for 
their  cutting  down  the  liberty  pole,  and  the  New 
Yorkers  were  perfectly  right  in  refusing  to  submit 
tamely  to  such  an  outrage. 

The  chief  fault  seems  to  have  lain  with  the  gar- 
rison officers,  who  should  have  kept  their  men 
under  restraint,  or   else  have   taken  immediate 


146  New  York 

steps  to  remedy  the  wrong  they  did  in  cutting 
down  the  pole. 

This  rioting  however  produced  no  more  than 
local  irritation.  After  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  the  colonies  were  not  again  stirred  by  a  com- 
mon emotion  until  the  passage  by  Parliament  of 
the  Tea  Act,  avowedly  passed,  and  avowedly  re- 
sisted simply  to  test  the  principle  of  taxation.  Its 
enactment  was  the  signal  for  the  Sons  of  Liberty 
and  other  societies — such  as  that  of  the  Mohawks 
— to  reorganize  at  once.  In  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  and  Boston,  the  sentiment  was  unanimous 
that  the  tea  shipped  from  England  should  be 
thrown  overboard  or  shipped  back;  and  Boston 
was  the  first  to  put  the  threat  into  execution. 
New  York  followed  suit  in  April,  1774,  when  the 
first  tea  ships  reached  the  harbor,  only  to  be 
boarded  by  an  excited  multitude  who  heaved  the 
tea-chests  of  one  vessel  into  the  harbor,  and  forced 
the  other  to  stand  out  to  sea  without  landing  her 
cargo. 

The  measures  of  retaliation  against  Boston 
taken  by  the  British  government,  aroused  in  New 
York  the  liveliest  sympathy  for  the  New  England- 
ers.  The  radical  party,  acting  without  any  au- 
thority through  a  self-constituted  Committee  of 
Vigilance,  began  to  correspond  with  the  Boston 
extremists;  and  this  gave  alarm  to  the  moderate 
men,  who  at  once  aroused  themselves  and  took  the 


Before  the  Revolution  147 

matter  into  their  own  hands,  so  as  not  to  be  com- 
promised by  unwise  and  hasty  action.  Accord- 
ingly, to  the  chagrin  of  the  extremists,  they 
promptly  disowned  and  repudiated  the  action  of 
the  vigilance  committee.  At  the  same  time  they 
thoroughly  distrusted  the  zeal  of  their  aristocratic 
legislature.  They  therefore  convoked  a  meeting 
of  the  freeholders,  who  with  due  solemnity  elected 
a  Committee  of  Fifty-one  to  correspond  with  the 
other  colonies.  This  committee  was  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  moderate  men,  even  containing 
in  its  ranks  several  Tories  and  very  few  of  the  radi- 
cals, and  did  a  piece  of  work  of  which  it  is  difficult 
to  overestimate  the  importance;  for  it  was  the 
first  authoritatively  to  suggest  the  idea  of  holding 
the  first  Continental  Congress.  This  suggestion 
is  said  to  have  been  adopted  by  the  advice  of  John 
Jay,  a  young  lawyer  of  good  Huguenot  family. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  committee  the  freehold- 
ers chose  five  delegates  to  this  congress, — includ- 
ing John  Jay,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  one  of  the 
Livingstons  also.  The  radicals  and  extremists, 
the  Sons  of  Liberty  and  the  old  Committee  of  Vigi- 
lance, with  the  Committee  of  Mechanics — the  body 
supposed  to  represent  most  nearly  the  unenfran- 
chised classes— were  greatly  discontented  with  the 
moderate  measures  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one ; 
and  there  was  very  nearly  a  rupture  between  the 
two  wings  of  the   patriot   party.      By  mutual 


148  New  York 

concessions  this  was  averted;  and  the  delegates 
were  elected  without  opposition.  They  took  their 
full  part  in  the  acts  of  the  first  Continental  Congress 
during  its  short  session,  the  colony  being  thereby 
committed  to  the  common  cause.  At  the  same 
time,  when  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  went  out 
of  existence  its  place  was  taken  by  another,  differ- 
ing in  little  more  than  the  fact  of  having  sixty 
members. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR.       1775-1783. 

THE  year  1775  was  for  New  York  City  one  of 
great  doubt  and  anxiety.  All  classes  had 
united  in  sending  delegates  to  the  first  Con- 
tinental Congress.  The  most  ardent  supporters 
of  the  Crown  and  Parliament  were  opposed  to  the 
Stamp  Act  and  Tea  Act,  and  were  anxious  to  pro- 
test against  them,  and  to  try  to  bring  about  a  more 
satisfactory  understanding  between  the  mother 
country  and  her  colonies.  On  the  other  hand  the 
popular  party  as  yet  shrank  from  independence. 
The  men  who  thus  early  thought  of  separation 
from  Britain  were  in  a  small  and  powerless  minor- 
ity ;  indeed,  they  were  but  a  little  knot  of  republi- 
can enthusiasts,  who  for  several  years  had  been 
accustomed  at  their  drinking-bouts  to  toast  the 
memory  of  the  famous  English  regicides. 

With  the  summoning  of  the  second  Continental 
Congress  this  unity  disappeared,  as  the  Whigs  and 
Tories  began  to  drift  in  opposite  ways, — the  one 
party  toward  violent  measures  with  separation  in 
the  background,  the  other  toward  reconciliation 
even  at  the  cost  of  submission.  A  Tory  mob  tried 
to  break  up  the  meeting  at  which  delegates  to  the 
second   Congress   were   chosen,    and   were   only 

149 


150  New  York 

driven  off  after  a  number  of  heads  had  been 
broken. 

New  York  still  remained  doubtful.  In  fact,  all 
of  the  colonies  outside  of  Virginia  and  New  Eng- 
land— although  containing  strong  patriot  parties, 
animated  by  the  most  fiery  zeal — were  as  a  whole 
somewhat  lukewarm  in  the  Revolution,  for  they 
contained  also  large  Tory,  and  still  larger  neutral 
elements  in  their  midst.  If  left  to  themselves  it 
is  even  doubtful  if  at  this  precise  time  they  would 
have  revolted;  they  were  pushed  into  independ- 
ence by  the  Virginians  and  New  Englanders.  Not 
only  was  the  Tory  element  in  New  York  very 
large,  but  there  was  also  a  powerful  body  of  Whigs 
— typified  by  Schuyler  and  Gouverneur  Morris — 
who  furnished  very  able  soldiers  and  statesmen 
when  the  actual  fighting  broke  out,  but  who  were 
thoroughly  disgusted  by  the  antics  of  the  city 
mob;  and  though  the  major  portion  of  this  mob 
was  rabidly  anti-British  as  far  as  noise  went,  it 
was  far  more  anxious  to  maltreat  unhappy  indi- 
vidual Tories  than  to  provoke  a  life  and  death 
struggle  with  the  troops  and  war-ships  of  the 
British  king.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  there 
were  plenty  of  Tories  in  the  mob  itself,  and  these 
among  the  most  abandoned  and  violent  of  the 
city's  population. 

The  provincial  legislature  was  as  a  body  actively 
loyal  to  the  king.     But,  in  spite  of  the  presence  of 


The  Revolutionary  War  151 

the  large  Tory  and  neutral  elements,  the  revo- 
lutionary party  was  unquestionably  in  the  lead 
among  the  people,  and  contained  the  most  daring 
spirits  and  the  loftiest  minds  of  the  colony.  There 
is  much  to  admire  in  the  resolute  devotion  which 
many  tens  of  thousands  of  Loyalists  showed  to  the 
king,  whose  cause  they  made  their  own ;  and  there 
is  much  to  condemn  in  the  excesses  committed  by 
a  portion  of  the  popular  party.  Nevertheless,  as 
in  the  great  English  civil  war  of  the  preceding  cen- 
tury, the  party  of  liberty  was  the  party  of  right. 
The  purest  and  ablest  New  Yorkers  were  to  be 
found  in  the  ranks  of  the  revolutionists ;  for  keen- 
eyed  and  right-thinking  men  saw  that  on  the  main 
issue  justice  was  with  the  colonists.  The  young 
men  of  ardent,  generous  temper,  such  as  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  John  Jay  and  Gouverneur  Morris, 
found  it  impossible  to  side  with  the  foreign  party. 
They  were  Americans,  freemen,  conscious  that 
they  deserved  to  stand  on  a  level  with  the  best  of 
any  land ;  and  they  could  not  cast  in  their  lot  with 
the  party  which  held  as  a  cardinal  point  of  its 
creed  the  doctrine  of  their  inferiority. 

The  mass  of  quiet,  good,  respectable  people,  of 
conservative  instincts  and  rather  dull  feelings, 
might  rest  content  with  being  treated  as  inferiors, 
if  on  the  whole  they  were  treated  well;  might 
submit  to  being  always  patronized  and  often 
bullied,  if  only  they  were  protected;  might  feel 


152  New  York 

they  owed  an  honest  debt  of  gratitude  to  their 
champions  in  former  wars ;  and  might  shrink  from 
enduring  the  hundred  actual  evils  of  civil  conflict 
merely  for  the  sake  of  protesting  against  the  vio- 
lation of  certain  abstract  rights  and  principles; 
but  the  high-spirited  young  men,  the  leaders  in 
thought  and  action,  fixed  with  unerring  certainty 
upon  the  central  and  vital  truth  of  the  situation. 
They  saw  that  the  struggle,  when  resolved  into  its 
ultimate  elements,  was  to  allow  Americans  the 
chance  for  full  and  free  development,  uncramped 
by  the  galling  sense  of  admitted  inferiority.  The 
material  benefits  conferred  by  the  continuance 
of  British  rule  might  or  might  not  offset  the 
material  disadvantages  it  involved;  but  they 
could  not  weigh  against  the  evils  of  a  system 
which  dwarfed  the  character  and  intellect, — a 
system  which  condemned  all  colonists  to  remain 
forever  in  the  second  rank,  which  forbade  their 
striving  for  the  world's  great  prizes,  unless  they 
renounced  their  American  birthright,  and  which 
deprived  them  of  those  hopes  that  especially 
render  life  worth  living  in  the  eyes  of  the  daring 
and  ambitious.  To  their  free,  bold  spirits,  the 
mere  assumption  of  their  inferiority  was  an 
intolerable  grievance,  as  indeed  it  has  ever  been 
esteemed  by  the  master  races  of  the  world. 
Sooner  than  submit,  in  ignoble  peace  and  safety, 
to  an  order  of  things  which  would  have  stunted 


The  Revolutionary  War  153 

the  moral  and  mental  growth  of  the  country, 
they  were  willing  to  risk  not  only  the  dangers  of 
war  with  the  British  king,  but  the  far  worse  dan- 
gers of  disorder,  violence,  anarchy,  and  a  general 
loosening  of  the  social  bonds  among  Americans 
themselves.     The  event  proved  their  wisdom. 

Yet  the  dangers  were  very  real  and  great.  The 
country  was  still  in  the  gristle ;  the  thews  had  not 
hardened.  There  had  been  much  lawlessness,  in 
one  quarter  and  another,  already;  and  the  long 
struggle  of  the  Revolution  produced  hideous  dis- 
organization. It  is  impossible  to  paint  in  too  dark 
colors  the  ferocity  of  the  struggle  between  the 
Whigs  and  Tories;  and  the  patriot  mobs,  either 
of  their  own  accord  or  instigated  by  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  and  kindred  bodies,  often  took  part  in 
proceedings  which  were  thoroughly  disgraceful. 
New  York  had  her  full  share  of  these  mob-out- 
breaks during  the  summer  of  1775.  The  lawyers, 
pamphleteers,  and  newspaper  writers,  who  con- 
tributed so  largely  to  arouse  the  people,  also  too 
often  joined  to  hound  the  populace  on  to  the  com- 
mittal of  outrages.  The  mob  broke  into  and 
plundered  the  houses  of  wealthy  Loyalists,  rode 
Tories  on  rails,  or  tarred,  feathered,  and  otherwise 
brutally  maltreated  them,  and  utterly  refused  to 
allow  to  others  the  liberty  of  speech  and  thought 
they  so  vociferously  demanded  for  themselves. 
They  hated  and  threatened  the  Episcopalian,  or 


154  New  York 

Church  of  England,  clergy,  because  of  that  part  of 
the  liturgy  in  which  the  king  was  prayed  for ;  and 
finally  the  Episcopalian  churches  had  to  be  closed 
for  fear  of  them.  They  drove  off  the  Tory  presi- 
dent of  King's  (now  Columbia)  College  and  joined 
with  a  Connecticut  mob  to  wreck  the  office  of  the 
Loyalist  newspaper.  It  is  to  their  credit,  how- 
ever, that  there  was  little  interference  with  the 
courts  of  justice.  They  did  not  come  into  colli- 
sion with  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  and  the  lat- 
ter were  permitted  to  embark  for  Massachusetts 
Bay,  where  hostilities  had  fairly  begun ;  but  they 
refused  to  allow  any  stores  or  munitions  of  war  to 
be  shipped  to  the  beleaguered  garrison  at  Boston. 
There  were  frequent  rows  with  the  boats'  crews 
of  the  frigates  in  the  bay ;  once  with  the  result  of  a 
broadside  being  fired  into  the  town  by  an  affronted 
man-of-war. 

In  spite  of  these  disturbances,  New  York  still 
remained  reluctant  to  burn  her  boats,  and  throw 
in  her  lot  once  for  all  with  the  patriots.  Both 
Washington,  on  his  way  to  take  command  of  the 
American  army  at  Boston,  and  Try  on,  the  royal 
governor,  were  received  with  the  same  formal 
tokens  of  respect.  Meanwhile  business  was  at  a 
standstill,  and  a  third  of  the  inhabitants  had  left 
the  town. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  year  1776  the  real  lead- 
ers of  the  city  and  province  the  men  of  mark,  and 


The  Revolutionary  War  155 

of  proved  courage  and  capacity,  saw  that  all  hope 
of  compromise  was  over.  They  had  been  dis- 
gusted with  the  turbulence  of  the  mob,  and  the 
noisy  bragging  and  threatening  of  its  leaders, — for 
the  most  part  frothy  men,  like  Isaac  Sears,  who  sank 
out  of  ken  when  the  days  of  rioting  passed,  and  the 
grim,  weary,  bloody  years  of  fighting  were  ush- 
ered in;  but  they  were  infinitely  more  disgusted 
with  the  spirit  of  tyrannous  folly  shown  by  the 
King  and  Parliament.  The  only  possible  out- 
come was  independence. 

The  citizens  had  become  thoroughly  hostile  to 
the  Tory  Colonial  Assembly,  and  had  formally  set 
it  aside  and  replaced  it,  first  by  a  succession  of 
committees,  and  then  by  a  series  of  provincial 
congresses,  corresponding  to  the  central  Conti- 
nental Congress.  The  mob  never  controlled  these 
congresses,  whose  leaders  were  men  like  Schuyler, 
Van  Zandt,  Van  Cortlandt,  Jay,  the  Livingstons, 
the  Morrises,  the  Van  Rensselaers,  the  Ludlows, — 
representatives  of  the  foremost  families  of  the 
New  York  gentry.1    When  the  Provincial  Con- 

1  The  names  of  the  members  of  these  committees  and  pro- 
vincial congresses  are  English,  Dutch,  Huguenot,  Scotch, 
Irish,  and  German;  the  English  in  the  lead,  with  the  Dutch 
coming  next.  Many  of  the  families  were  represented  by- 
more  than  one  individual:  thus  of  the  Livingstons  there  were 
Walter,  Peter  Van  Brugh,  Robert  L.,  and  Philip;  of  the 
Ludlows,  Gabriel  and  William;  of  the  Beekmans,  David  and 
William;  of  the  Roosevelts,  Isaac  and  Nicholas;   etc. 


156  New  York 

gress,  with  unanimity  and  the  heartiest  enthusi- 
asm, ratified  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  it 
was  evident  that  the  best  men  in  New  York  were 
on  the  Revolutionary  side. 

In  January,  1776,  Washington  sent  one  of  his 
generals  to  take  command  in  New  York,  and  in 
April  he  himself  made  it  his  headquarters,  having 
at  last  driven  the  enemy  from  Boston.  Soon  the 
motly  levies  of  the  patriot  army  were  thronging 
the  streets, — some  in  homespun  or  buckskin,  a  few 
in  the  dingy  scarlet  they  had  worn  in  the  last 
French  war,  Marylanders  in  green  hunting-shirts, 
Virginians  in  white  smocks,  militia  in  divers  uni- 
forms from  the  other  colonies,  and  Washington's 
guards,  the  nucleus  of  the  famous  Continental 
troops  of  the  line,  in  their  blue  and  buff.  All  New 
York  was  in  a  ferment;  and  the  ardent  young 
patriots  were  busy  from  morning  till  night  in  arm- 
ing, equipping,  and  drilling  the  regiments  that 
made  up  her  quota.1 

The  city  was  in  no  state  to  resist  a  siege,  or  an 
attack  by  a  superior  force.  Her  forts,  such  as  they 
were,  would  not  have  availed  against  any  foe  more 
formidable  than  a  light  frigate  or  heavy  privateer. 
The  truth  was  that  the  United  States — for  such 

1  The  younger  men  among  the  leading  city  families  fur- 
nished most  of  the  captains  for  the  city  regiments, — among 
them  being  Henry  S.  Livingston,  Abraham  Van  Wyck,  John 
Berrian,  John  J.  Roosevelt,  and  others.  Many  of  the  most 
distinguished,  however,  had  themselves  risen  from  the  ranks. 


The  Revolutionary  War  157 

the  revolted  colonies  had  become — were  extremely 
vulnerable  to  assault.  Their  settled  territory  lay 
in  a  narrow  belt,  stretching  for  a  thousand  miles 
along  the  coast.  Its  breadth  was  but  a  hundred 
miles  or  so,  in  most  places ;  then  it  faded  off,  the 
inland  frontier  lying  vaguely  in  the  vast,  melan- 
choly, Indian-haunted  forests.  The  ferocious  and 
unending  warfare  with  the  red  woodland  tribes 
kept  the  thinly  scattered  pioneers  busy  defending 
their  own  hearthstones,  and  gave  them  but  scant 
breathing  spells  in  which  to  come  to  the  help  of 
their  brethren  in  the  old  settled  regions.  The 
eastern  frontier  was  the  coast-line  itself,  which  was 
indented  by  countless  sounds,  bays,  and  harbors, 
and  here  and  there  broken  by  great  estuaries  or 
tide-water  rivers,  which  could  carry  hostile  fleets 
into  the  heart  of  the  land.  The  bulk  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  all  the  chief  towns,  lay  in  easy  striking 
distance  from  the  sea.  Almost  all  the  intercolo- 
nial trade  went  along  the  water-ways,  either  up 
and  down  the  rivers,  or  skirting  the  coast.  There 
was  no  important  fortress  or  fortified  city;  no 
stronghold  of  note.  A  war  power  having  com- 
mand of  the  seas  possessed  the  most  enormous 
advantage.  It  menaced  the  home  trade  almost 
as  much  as  the  foreign,  threatened  the  whole  ex- 
posed coast-line, — and  therefore  the  settled  coun- 
try which  lay  alongside  it, — could  concentrate  its 
forces  wherever  it  wished,  and  could  penetrate  the 


158  New  York 

country  at  will.  The  revolted  colonists  had  no 
navy,  while  the  mother  country  possessed  the 
most  powerful  in  the  world.  She  was  fourfold 
their  superior  in  population,  and  a  hundredfold 
in  wealth;  she  had  a  powerful  standing  army, 
while  they  had  none.  Moreover,  the  colonists' 
worst  foes  were  those  of  their  own  household.  The 
active  Tories  and  half-hearted  neutrals  formed  the 
majority  of  the  population  in  many  districts, — 
including  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island.  The 
Americans  were  then  a  race  of  yeomen,  or  small 
farmers,  who  were  both  warlike  in  temper  and 
unmilitary  in  habits.  They  were  shrewd,  brave, 
patriotic,  stout  of  heart  and  body,  and  proudly 
self-reliant,  but  impatient  of  discipline,  and  most 
unwilling  to  learn  the  necessity  of  obedience. 
Their  notion  of  war  was  to  enlist  for  a  short  cam- 
paign, usually  after  the  hay  was  in,  and  to  return 
home  by  winter,  or  sooner,  if  their  commanding 
officers  displeased  them.  They  seemed  unable  to 
appreciate  the  need  of  sustained  effort.  The  jeal- 
ousies of  the  different  States  and  their  poverty  and 
short-sighted  parsimony,  the  looseness  of  the  Fed- 
eral tie,  the  consequent  impotence  of  the  central 
government,  and  the  radical  unfitness  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  as  a  body  to  conduct  war,  all 
combined  to  render  the  prospects  of  the  patriots 
gloomy.  Only  the  heroic  grandeur  of  Washington 
could  have  built  up  victory  from  these  jarring 


The  Revolutionary  War  i 


59 


elements.  It  was  therefore  natural  for  the  patriot 
party  of  New  York  to  look  before  it  leaped ;  but  the 
leap  once  taken,  it  never  faltered.  No  other  State 
north  of  South  Carolina  was  so  harried  by  the 
forces  of  the  king ;  and  against  no  other  State  did 
they  direct  such  efforts  or  send  such  armies, — 
armies  which  held  portions  of  it  to  the  close  of  the 
war.  Yet  the  patriot  party  remained  firm 
throughout,  never  flinching  through  the  long 
years,  cheering  the  faint-hearted,  crushing  out  the 
Tories,  and  facing  the  enemy  with  unshaken  front. 
Early  in  the  summer  a  great  armament  began  to 
gather  in  the  lower  bay;  a  force  more  numerous 
and  more  formidable  than  the  famous  Armada 
which  nearly  two  centuries  before  had  sailed  from 
Spain  against  England.  Scores  of  war-ships  of 
every  kind,  from  the  heavy  liner,  with  her  tiers  of 
massive  cannon,  to  the  cutter  armed  with  a  couple 
of  light  cannon,  and  hundreds  of  transports  and 
provision-ships  began  to  arrive,  squadron  by 
squadron.  Aboard  them  was  an  army  of  nearly 
forty  thousand  fighting-men.  A  considerable  num- 
ber were  Hessians,  and  other  German  troops,  hired 
out  by  the  greedy  and  murderous  baseness  of  the 
princelets  of  Germany.  The  Americans  grew  to 
feel  a  peculiar  hatred  for  these  Hessians,  because 
of  the  ravages  they  committed,  and  because  of  the 
merely  mercenary  nature  of  their  services ;  but 
the  wrong  lay  not  with  the  poor,  dull-witted, 


160  New  York 

hard-fighting  boors,  but  with  their  sordid  and 
contemptible  masters. 

With  the  near  approach  of  this  great  army  the 
Tories  began  plotting;  and  most  rigorous  meas- 
ures were  taken  to  stamp  out  these  plots.  For 
some  reason  the  lower  class  of  liquor  sellers  were 
mostly  Tories,  and  many  of  the  plots  were  found 
to  have  their  origin  among  them  or  their  custo- 
mers. The  Loyalist  gentry  had  for  the  most  part 
fled  to  the  British  lines.  Those  who  remained 
behind — including  both  the  mayor  and  ex-mayor 
of  the  city — were  forced  to  take  a  stringent  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  Continental  Congress  and  the 
new  nation.  The  Tory  plots  were  not  mythical; 
one  was  unearthed  which  aimed  at  nothing  less 
than  the  abducting  or  killing  of  Washington, — the 
ringleader,  Thomas  Hickey,  an  Irish  soldier  who 
had  deserted  from  the  royal  army,  being  hanged 
for  his  villainy. 

Washington  saw  the  hopelessness  of  trying  to 
defend  New  York  with  the  materials  he  had, 
against  such  a  force  as  was  coming  against  it ;  and 
it  was  proposed  to  burn  the  town  and  retire  so  that 
the  king's  troops  might  gain  nothing  by  the  cap- 
ture. This  was  undoubtedly  the  proper  course 
to  follow,  from  a  purely  military  standpoint; 
but  the  political  objections  to  its  adoption  were 
insuperable.  Washington  labored  unceasingly 
at  the  almost  hopeless    task   of   perfecting   the 


The  Revolutionary  War  161 

discipline  of  his  raw,  ill-armed,  ill-provided,  jeal- 
ousy-riven army ;  and  he  put  down  outrages,  where 
he  could,  with  a  heavy  hand.  Nevertheless,  many  of 
the  soldiers  plundered  right  and  left,  treating  the 
property  of  all  Loyalists  as  rightfully  to  be  con- 
fiscated, and  often  showing  small  scruple  in  rob- 
bing wealthy  Whigs  under  pretense  of  mistaking 
them  for  Tories. 

At  last,  in  mid-August,  the  British  general, 
Lord  Howe,  made  up  his  mind  to  strike  at  the 
doomed  city.  He  landed  on  Long  Island  a  body 
of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  soldiers, — English, 
Irish,  and  German.1  The  American  forces  on  the 
island  were  not  over  half  as  numerous,  and  were 
stationed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Brooklyn.  Some 
of  the  British  frigates  had  already  ascended  the 
Hudson  to  the  Tappan  Sea,  and  had  cannonaded 
the  town  as  they  dropped  down  stream  again, 
producing  a  great  panic,  but  doing  little  damage. 
The  royal  army  was  landed  on  the  twenty-second ; 
but  Lord  Howe,  a  very  slow,  easy-going  man,  did 
not  deliver  his  blow  until  five  days  later.  The  attack 

1  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  the  Revolutionary  War  the 
Germans  and  Catholic  Irish  should  have  furnished  the  bulk 
of  the  auxiliaries  to  the  regular  English  soldiers;  for  as  the 
English  is  the  leading  strain  in  our  blood,  so  the  German  and 
the'  Irish  elements  come  next.  The  Maryland  Catholics,  and 
most  of  the  German  settlers,  were  stout  adherents  of  the 
Revolutionary  cause.  The  fiercest  and  most  ardent  Ameri- 
cans of  all,  however,  were  the  Presbyterian  Irish  settlers  and 
their  descendants. 
ii 


162  New  York 

was  made  in  three  divisions,  early  in  the  morning, 
and  was  completely  successful.  The  Americans 
permitted  themselves  to  be  surprised,  and  were 
outgeneraled  in  every  way.  Not  half  the  force 
on  either  side  was  engaged.  Some  of  the  Ameri- 
can troops  made  but  a  short  stand ;  others  showed 
a  desperate  but  disorderly  valor.  About  two 
thousand  of  them  were  killed,  wounded,  or  cap- 
tured, principally  the  latter ;  while  the  British  loss 
was  less  than  four  hundred,  the  battle  being  won 
without  difficulty.  Howe  seemingly  had  the  re- 
mainder of  the  American  army  completely  at  his 
mercy,  for  it  was  cooped  up  on  a  point  of  land 
which  projected  into  the  water.  But  he  felt  so 
sure  of  his  prey  that  he  did  not  strike  at  once ;  and 
while  he  lingered  and  made  ready,  Washington, 
who  had  crossed  over  to  the  scene  of  disaster,  per- 
fected his  plans,  and  by  a  masterly  stroke  ferried 
the  beaten  army  across  to  New  York  during  the 
night  of  the  twenty-ninth.  The  following  morn- 
ing the  king's  generals  woke  to  find  that  their 
quarry  had  slipped  away  from  them. 

The  discouragement  and  despondency  of  the 
Americans  were  very  great,  Washington  almost 
alone  keeping  up  heart.  It  was  resolved  to  evac- 
uate New  York ;  the  chief  opponent  of  the  evacu- 
ation being  General  George  Clinton,  a  hard-fight- 
ing soldier  from  Ulster  county,  where  his  people  of 
Anglo-Irish  origin  stood  well,  having  intermarried 


The  Revolutionary  War  163 

with  the  Tappans  and  De  Witts  of  the  old  Dutch 
stock.  Clinton  did  not  belong  to  the  old  colo- 
nial families  of  weight,  being  almost  the  only- 
New  York  Revolutionary  leader  of  note  who  did 
not ;  and  in  consequence  they  rather  looked  down 
on  him,  while  he  in  turn  repaid  their  dislike  with 
interest.  He  was  a  harsh,  narrow-minded  man, 
of  obstinate  courage  and  considerable  executive 
capacity,  very  ambitious,  and  a  fanatical  leader  of 
the  popular  party  in  the  contest  with  the  Crown. 

On  September  15,  Howe,  having  as  usual  lost  a 
valuable  fortnight  by  delay,  moved  against  Man- 
hattan Island.  His  troops  landed  at  Kip's  Bay, 
where  the  Americans  opposed  to  them,  mostly 
militia,  broke  in  disgraceful  panic  and  fled  before 
them.  Washington  spurred  to  the  scene  in  a 
frenzy  of  rage,  and  did  his  best  to  stop  the  rout, 
striking  the  fugitives  with  his  sword,  and  hurling 
at  them  words  of  bitter  scorn;  but  it  was  all  in 
vain,  the  flight  could  not  be  stayed,  and  Washing- 
ton himself  was  only  saved  from  death  or  capture 
by  his  aides-de-camp,  who  seized  his  bridle-reins 
and  forced  him  from  the  field. 

However,  Washington's  acts  and  words  had 
their  effect,  and  as  the  Americans  recovered  from 
their  panic  they  became  heartily  ashamed  of  them- 
selves. The  king's  troops  acted  with  such  slow- 
ness that  the  American  divisions  south  of  Kip's 
Bay  were  able  to  march  past  them  unmolested. 


164  New  York 

These  divisions,  on  their  retreat,  were  guided  by  a 
brilliant  young  officer,  Aaron  Burr,  then  an  aide- 
de-camp  to  the  rough,  simple-hearted  old  wolf- 
killer  General  Putnam ;  and  the  rear  was  protected 
by  Alexander  Hamilton  and  his  company  of  New 
York  artillerymen,  who  in  one  or  two  slight  skir- 
mishes beat  off  the  advance  guard  of  the  pursuers. 

Washington  drew  up  his  army  on  Haarlem 
Heights,  and  the  next  day  inflicted  a  smart  check 
on  the  enemy.  An  American  outpost  was  at- 
tacked and  driven  in  by  the  English  light  troops, 
who  were  then  themselves  attacked  and  roughly 
handled  by  the  Connecticut  men  and  Virginians. 
They  were  saved  from  destruction  by  some  regi- 
ments of  Hessians  and  Highlanders;  but  further 
reinforcements  for  the  Americans  arrived,  and  the 
royal  troops  were  finally  driven  from  the  field. 
About  a  hundred  Americans  and  nearly  three 
times  as  many  of  their  foes  were  killed  or  wounded. 
It  was  nothing  more  than  a  severe  skirmish ;  but 
it  was  a  victory,  and  it  did  much  to  put  the  Ameri- 
cans in  heart. 

Besides,  it  was  a  lesson  to  the  king's  troops,  and 
made  Howe  even  more  cautious  than  usual.  For 
an  entire  month  he  remained  fronting  Washing- 
ton's lines,  which,  he  asserted,  were  too  strong  to 
be  carried  by  assault.  Then  the  rough  sea-dogs 
of  the  fleet  came  to  his  rescue,  with  the  usual  dar- 
ing and  success  of  British  seamen.     His  frigates 


The  Revolutionary  War  165 

burst  through  the  obstructions  which  the  Ameri- 
cans had  fondly  hoped  would  bar  the  Hudson,  and 
sailed  up  past  the  flanks  of  the  patriot  army; 
while  the  passage  to  the  Sound  was  also  forced. 
Washington  had  no  alternative  but  to  retreat, 
which  he  did  slowly,  skirmishing  heavily.  At 
White  Plains,  Howe  drove  in  the  American  out- 
posts, suffering  more  loss  than  he  inflicted.  But 
a  fortnight  later,  in  mid-November,  a  heavy  dis- 
aster befell  the  Americans.  In  deference  to  the 
wishes  of  Congress,  Washington  had  kept  gar- 
risons in  the  two  forts  which  had  been  built  to 
guard  the  Hudson,  and  Howe  attacked  them  with 
sudden  energy.  One  was  evacuated  at  the  last 
moment ;  the  other  was  carried  by  assault,  and  its 
garrison  of  nearly  three  thousand  men  captured, 
after  a  resistance  which  could  not  be  called  more 
than  respectable.  Washington  retreated  into 
New  Jersey  with  his  dwindling  army  of  but  little 
more  than  three  thousand  men.  The  militia  had 
all  left  him  long  before ;  and  his  short-term  '  'regu- 
lar" troops  also  went  off  by  companies  and  regi- 
ments as  their  periods  of  enlistment  drew  to  a 
close;  and  the  stoutest  friends  of  America  des- 
paired. Then,  in  the  icy  winter,  Washington 
suddenly  turned  on  his  foes,  crossed  the  Delaware, 
and  by  the  victory  of  Trenton,  won  at  the  darkest 
moment  of  the  war,  re-established  the  patriot 
cause. 


166  New  York 

For  the  next  seven  years,  New  York  suffered  all 
the  humiliations  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  conquered 
city.  The  king's  troops  held  it  as  a  garrison  town, 
under  military  rule,  and  made  it  the  headquarters 
of  their  power  in  America.  Their  foraging  parties 
and  small  expeditionary  columns  ravaged  the 
neighboring  counties,  not  only  of  New  York,  but  of 
New  Jersey  and  Connecticut.  The  country  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  city  was  overawed  by  the 
formidable  garrison  and  remained  Loyalist;  be- 
yond this  came  a  wide  zone  or  neutral  belt  where 
the  light  troops  and  irregular  forces  of  both  sides 
fought  one  another  and  harried  the  wretched  in- 
habitants. Privateers  were  fitted  out  to  cruise 
against  the  shipping  of  the  other  States,  precisely 
as  the  privateers  of  the  patriots  had  sailed  from 
the  harbor  against  the  shipping  of  Britain  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  war. 

Most  of  the  active  patriots  among  the  townsfolk 
had  left  the  city;  only  the  poor  and  the  faint- 
hearted remained  behind,  together  with  the  large 
Tory  element,  and  the  still  larger  portion  of  the 
population  which  strove  to  remain  neutral  in  the 
conflict.  This  last  division  contained  the  only 
persons  whose  conduct  must  be  regarded  as  thor- 
oughly despicable.  Emphatically  the  highest 
meed  of  praise  belongs  to  the  resolute,  high- 
minded,  far-seeing  men  of  the  patriot  party, — as 
distinguished  from  the  mere  demagogues  and  mob 


The  Revolutionary  War  167 

leaders  who,  of  course,  are  to  be  found  associated 
with  every  great  popular  movement.  We  can 
also  heartily  respect  the  honest  and  gallant  Loy- 
alists who  sacrificed  all  by  their  devotion  to  the 
king's  cause.  But  the  selfish  time-servers,  the 
timid  men,  and  those  who  halt  between  two  bur- 
dens, and  can  never  make  up  their  minds  which 
side  to  support  in  any  great  political  crisis,  are 
only  worthy  of  contempt. 

The  king's  troops  were  not  cruel  conquerors; 
but  they  were  insolent  and  overbearing,  and  some- 
times brutal.  The  Loyalists  were  in  a  thoroughly 
false  position.  They  had  drawn  the  sword  against 
their  countrymen ;  and  yet  they  could  not  hope  to 
be  treated  as  equals  by  those  for  whom  they  were 
fighting.  They  soon  found  to  their  bitter  chagrin 
that  their  haughty  allies  regarded  them  as  in- 
feriors, and  despised  an  American  Tory  almost  as 
much  as  they  hated  an  American  Whig.  The 
native  army  had  not  behaved  well  in  the  half -Tory 
city  of  New  York;  but  the  invading  army  which 
drove  it  out  behaved  much  worse.  The  soldiers 
broke  into  and  looted  the  corporation,  the  college, 
and  the  small  public  libraries,  hawking  the  books 
about  the  streets,  or  exchanging  them  for  liquor  in 
the  low  saloons.  They  also  sacked  the  Presby- 
terian, Dutch  Reformed,  and  Huguenot  churches, 
which  were  later  turned  into  prisons  for  the  cap- 
tured Americans;  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 


168  New  York 

Episcopalian  churches,  which  had  been  closed 
owing  to  the  riotous  conduct  of  the  patriot  mob, 
were  reopened.  The  hangers-on  of  the  army, — 
the  camp-followers,  loose  women,  and  the  like, — 
formed  a  regular  banditti,  who  infested  the  streets 
after  dark,  and  made  all  outgoings  dangerous. 
There  was  a  completely  organized  system  of  gi- 
gantic jobbery  and  swindling,  by  which  the  con- 
tractors and  commissaries,  and  not  a  few  of  the 
king's  officers  as  well,  were  enriched  at  the  expense 
of  the  British  government;  and  when  they  plun- 
dered the  government  wholesale,  it  was  not  to  be 
supposed  that  they  would  spare  Tories.  The  rich 
Royalists,  besides  of  course  all  the  Whigs,  had 
their  portable  property,  their  horses,  provisions, 
and  silver  taken  from  them  right  and  left, — some- 
times by  bands  of  marauding  soldiers,  sometimes 
by  the  commissaries,  but  always  without  redress  or 
compensation,  their  representations  to  the  officers 
in  command  being  scornfully  disregarded.  They 
complained  in  their  bitter  anger  that  the  troops 
sent  to  reconquer  America  seemed  bent  on  cam- 
paigning less  against  the  rebels  than  against  the 
king's  own  friends  and  the  king's  own  army-chest. 
Many  of  the  troops  lived  at  free  quarters  in  the 
private  houses,  behaving  well  or  ill  according  to 
their  individual  characters. 

A  few  days  after  New  York  was  captured  it  took 
fire,  and  a  large  portion  of  it  was  burnt  up  before 


The  Revolutionary  War  169 

the  flames  were  checked.  The  British  soldiers 
were  infuriated  by  the  belief  that  the  fire  was  the 
work  of  rebel  incendiaries,  and  in  the  disorganiz- 
ation of  the  day  they  cut  loose  from  the  control  of 
their  officers  and  committed  gross  outrages,  bay- 
oneting a  number  of  men,  both  Whigs  and  Tories, 
whom  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  they  accused  of 
being  privy  to  the  plot  for  burning  the  city.  Two  or 
three  years  afterward  there  was  another  great  fire, 
which  consumed  much  of  what  the  first  had 
spared. 

On  the  day  of  this  first  fire  an  American  spy, 
Nathan  Hale,  was  captured.  His  fate  attracted 
much  attention  on  account  of  his  high  personal 
character.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  patriot  army, 
a  graduate  of  Yale,  and  betrothed  to  a  beautiful 
girl;  and  he  had  volunteered  for  the  dangerous 
task  from  the  highest  sense  of  duty.  He  was 
hanged  the  following  morning,  and  met  his  death 
with  quiet,  unflinching  firmness,  his  last  words 
expressing  his  regret  that  he  had  but  one  life  to 
lose  for  his  country.  He  was  mourned  by  his 
American  comrades  as  deeply  and  sincerely  and 
with  to  the  full  as  much  reason  as  a  few  years  later 
Andre  was  mourned  by  the  officers  of  the  king. 

Four  or  five  thousand  American  soldiers  were 
captured  in  the  battles  attending  the  taking  of 
New  York ;  and  thenceforward  the  city  was  made 
the  prison-house  of  all  the  captured  patriots.    The 


170  New  York 

old  City  Hall,  the  old  sugar-house  of  the  Living- 
stons (a  gloomy  stone  building,  five  stories  high, 
with  deep  narrow  windows) ,  and  most  of  the  non- 
Episcopal  churches  were  turned  into  jails,  and 
packed  full  of  prisoners.  It  was  a  much  rougher 
age  than  the  present ;  the  prisons  of  the  most  civi- 
lized countries  were  scandalous  even  in  peace,  and 
of  course  prisoners  of  war  fared  horribly.  The 
king's  officers  as  a  whole  doubtless  meant  to  be- 
have humanely;  but  the  provost-marshal  of  New 
York  was  a  very  brutal  man,  and  the  cheating 
commissaries  who  undertook  to  feed  the  prisoners 
made  large  fortunes  by  furnishing  them  with 
spoiled  provisions,  curtailing  their  rations,  and  the 
like.  The  captives  were  huddled  together  in 
ragged,  emaciated,  vermin-covered  and  fever- 
stricken  masses;  while  disease,  bad  food,  bad 
water,  the  cold  of  winter,  and  the  stifling  heat  of 
summer  ravaged  their  squalid  ranks.  Every 
morning  the  death-carts  drew  up  at  the  doors  to 
receive  the  bodies  of  those  who  during  the  night 
had  died  on  the  filthy  straw  of  which  they  made 
their  beds.  The  prison-ships  were  even  worse. 
They  were  evil,  pestilent  hulks  of  merchantmen  or 
men-of-war,  moored  mostly  in  Wallabout  Bay; 
and  in  their  noisome  rotten  holds  men  died  by 
hundreds,  and  were  buried  in  shallow  pits  at  the 
water's  edge,  the  graves  being  soon  uncovered  by 
the    tide.     In    after   years   many    hogsheads   of 


The  Revolutionary  War  171 

human  bones  were  taken  from  the  foul  ooze  to 
receive  Christian  burial. 

So  for  seven  dreary  years  New  York  lay  in 
thraldom,  while  Washington  and  his  Continentals 
battled  for  the  freedom  of  America.  Nor  did 
Washington  battle  only  with  the  actual  foe  in  the 
field.  He  had  to  strive  also  with  the  short-sighted 
and  sour  jealousies  of  the  different  States,  the 
mixed  impotence  and  intrigue  of  Congress,  the 
poverty  of  the  people,  the  bankruptcy  of  the  gov- 
ernment, the  lukewarm  timidity  of  many,  the  open 
disaffection  of  not  a  few,  and  the  jobbery  of  specu- 
lators who  were  sometimes  to  be  found  high  in  the 
ranks  of  the  army  itself.  Moreover,  he  had  to 
contend  with  the  general  dislike  of  discipline  and 
sustained  exertion  natural  to  the  race  of  shrewd, 
brave,  hardy  farmers  whom  he  led, — unused  as 
they  were  to  all  restraint,  and  unable  to  fully  ap- 
preciate the  necessity  of  making  sacrifices  in  the 
present  for  the  sake  of  the  future.  But  his  soul 
rose  above  disaster,  misfortune,  and  suffering ;  he 
had  the  heart  of  the  people  really  with  him,  he  was 
backed  by  a  group  of  great  statesmen,  and  he  had 
won  the  unfaltering  and  devoted  trust  of  the  band 
of  veteran  soldiers  with  whom  he  had  achieved 
victory,  suffered  defeat,  and  wrested  victory  from 
defeat  for  so  many  years ;  and  he  triumphed  in  the 
end. 

On  November  25,  1783,  the  armies  of  the  king 


172  New  York 

left  the  city  they  had  held  so  long,  carrying  with 
them  some  twelve  thousand  Loyalists;  while  on 
the  same  day  Washington  marched  in  with  his 
troops  and  with  the  civil  authorities  of  the  State. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  FEDERALIST  CITY.       1783-1800. 

NEW  York  was  indeed  a  dreary  city  when  the 
king's  troops  left  it  after  their  sojourn  of 
seven  years.  The  spaces  desolated  by  the 
great  fires  had  never  been  built  up,  but  still 
remained  covered  with  the  charred,  melancholy 
ruins;  the  churches  had  been  dismantled,  the 
houses  rifled.  Business  was  gone,  and  the  chan- 
nels in  which  it  had  run  were  filled  up.  The 
Americans  on  taking  possession  once  more  had  to 
begin  all  over  again.  They  set  busily  to  work  to 
rebuild  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  town;  but  the 
destruction  had  been  so  complete,  and  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  getting  a  fair  start  were  so 
great,  that  for  four  years  very  little  progress  was 
made.  Then  affairs  took  a  turn  for  the  better; 
the  city  began  to  flourish  as  it  never  had  flour- 
ished before,  and  grew  in  wealth  and  population 
at  a  steadily  increasing  pace. 

The  dismantled  churches  were  put  in  order; 
and  Trinity,  which  had  been  burnt  down  in  the 
fire  of  1776,  was  entirely  rebuilt.  King's  College 
had  its  name  changed  to  Columbia,  and  was  again 
started,  the  first  scholar  being  De  Witt  Clinton,  a 
nephew  of  George  Clinton,  at  the  time  governor  of 

173 


174  New  York 

the  State.  The  free  public  library — the  New 
York  Society  Library — was  revived  on  a  very 
much  larger  scale,  and  a  good  building  erected, 
wherein  to  house  the  books.  The  new  constitu- 
tion of  the  independent  State  of  New  York  com- 
pletely did  away  with  the  religious  disabilities 
enforced  under  the  old  provincial  government,  and 
declared  and  maintained  absolute  religious  toler- 
ation and  equality  before  the  law.  In  conse- 
quence a  Catholic  church  was  soon  built;  while 
the  Methodists  increased  rapidly  in  numbers  and 
influence. 

The  New  York  Medical  Society  began  its  career 
in  1788;  and  one  of  the  most  curious  of  New 
York's  many  riots  occurred  shortly  afterward. 
The  mob  engaged  in  this  riot  was  always  known 
as  "the  doctors'  mob,"  because  their  wrath  was 
directed  against  the  young  medical  students  and 
their  teachers.  Rumors  had  been  rife  for  some 
time  that  the  doctors  rifled  the  graveyards  to  get 
subjects  for  dissection,  which  excited  the  populace 
greatly.  One  day  a  boy  looking  into  the  dissect- 
ing-room saw  the  medical  students  at  work  on  a 
body,  and  immediately  ran  home  and  alarmed  his 
father.  Without  any  more  reason  than  this,  the 
mob  suddenly  assembled,  hunted  the  doctors  out 
of  their  homes,  entered  houses  and  destroyed 
property,  refused  to  obey  the  commands  of  the 
civil  officers  when  called  on  to  disperse,  and  finally 


•1111111... 


Set  - 

=a  rrr,  BSS  7 


The  Federalist  City  175 

came  into  collision  with  the  State  troops,  who 
scattered  them  with  a  volley,  killing  and  wounding 
several. 

An  occasional  turbulent  outbreak  of  this  sort, 
however,  could  not  check  the  city's  growth.  Com- 
merce throve  apace.  The  more  venturesome 
merchants  sent  ships  for  the  first  time  to  the  far 
China  seas ;  and  in  a  few  years,  when  the  gigantic 
warfare  of  the  French  Revolution  convulsed  all 
Europe,  New  York  began  to  take  its  full  share  of 
the  traffic  which  was  thereby  forced  into  neutral 
bottoms. 

The  achievement  of  liberty  had  not  worked  any 
radical  change  in  the  municipal  government  of  the 
city;  and  the  constitution  under  which  the  State 
entered  on  its  new  life  of  independence  was  not 
ultra-democratic,  although  of  course  marking  a 
long  stride  toward  democracy.  The  suffrage  was 
rigidly  limited.  There  were  two  kinds  of  fran- 
chise: any  man  owning  a  freehold  worth  £20,  or 
paying  rent  to  the  value  of  forty  shillings  could 
vote  for  the  members  of  the  Assembly ;  while  only 
a  freeholder  whose  freehold  was  worth  £100  could 
vote  for  senator  or  governor.  Almost  all  the 
executive  and  legislative  officers,  whether  of  the 
State,'  the  county,  or  the  town,  were  appointed  by 
the  Council  of  Appointment,  which  consisted  of 
the  governor  and  four  senators.  The  large  land- 
holding  families  thus  still    retained  very   much 


176  New  York 

influence.  The  destruction  of  the  power  of  the  great 
Tory  families,  however,  had  of  course  diminished 
the  weight  of  the  rich  landowning  class  as  a 
whole ;  and  in  the  country  the  decisive  power  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  small  freeholding  farmers. 

The  State  was  not  yet  governed  by  an  absolute 
democracy,  because  as  yet  no  one  save  theorists 
were  believers  in  an  absolute  democracy,  and  even 
manhood  suffrage  was  not  advocated  by  many 
persons;  while  the  unenfranchised  were  not  ac- 
tively discontented.  The  framers  of  the  State 
constitution  were  not  mere  paper-government 
visionaries;  they  were  shrewd,  honest,  practical 
politicians,  acquainted  with  men  and  affairs. 
They  invented  new  governmental  methods  when 
necessary,  but  they  did  not  try  to  build  up  an 
entirely  new  scheme  of  government ;  they  simply 
took  the  old  system  under  which  the  affairs  of  the 
colony  had  been  administered  and  altered  it  to 
suit  the  altered  conditions  of  the  new  State.  This 
method  was  of  course  much  the  wisest ;  but  it  was 
naturally  attended  by  some  disadvantages.  The 
constitution-makers  kept  certain  provisions  it 
would  have  been  well  to  throw  away ;  they  failed 
to  guard  against  certain  dangers  that  were  sure 
to  arise  under  the  changed  circumstances ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  they  created  difficulties  by  their 
endeavors  to  guard  against  certain  other  dangers 
which  had  really  vanished  with  the  destruction  of 


The  Federalist  City  177 

the  old  system.  This  was  notably  shown  by  their 
treatment  of  the  governorship,  and  by  their  fear  of 
one-man  power  generally.  The  colonial  governor 
was  not  elected  by  the  people,  nor  responsible  to 
them  in  any  way ;  it  was  therefore  to  the  popular 
interest  to  hem  in  his  power  by  all  lawful  expedi- 
ents. This  was  done  by  the  colonial  legislature, 
the  only  exponent  and  servant  of  the  popular  wish. 
The  State  governor,  however,  was  elected  by  the 
people,  was  responsible  to  them,  and  was  as  much 
their  servant  and  representative  as  the  legislature. 
Nevertheless,  the  distrust  of  the  non-represen- 
tative, appointed,  colonial  governor  was  handed 
down  as  a  legacy  to  his  elective  and  representative 
successor.  The  fact  that  the  colonial  governor 
was  made  irresponsible  by  the  method  of  his  ap- 
pointment, and  that  a  colonial  legislature  ap- 
pointed in  the  same  way  would  have  been  equally 
irresponsible  and  objectionable,  was  seemingly 
overlooked,  and  the  governorship  was  treated  as  if 
a  single  person  were  more  dangerous  than  a  group 
of  persons  to  those  who  elect  both,  and  can  hold 
both  equally  responsible.  Accordingly,  he  was 
hampered  with  the  Council  of  Appointment,  and 
in  other  ways.  We  have  since  grown  wiser  in  this 
respect;  but  the  curious  fear  still  survives,  and 
shows  itself  occasionally  in  odd  ways, — such  as 
standing  up  for  the  "rights"  of  a  wholly  useless 
and  pernicious  board  of  aldermen. 


178  New  York 

The  government  of  the  city  was  treated  in  the 
same  way.  In  colonial  times  the  freeholders  elected 
their  own  aldermen,  while  the  mayor  and  execu- 
tive officers  were  appointed  by  the  representatives 
of  the  Crown.  The  system  was  continued,  the 
State  governor  and  Council  of  Appointment  being 
substituted  for  the  royal  governor  and  his  council. 
The  freeholders  continued  to  elect  their  aldermen, 
and  the  constables,  when  constables  were  elected ; 
but  the  mayor,  the  sheriff,  and  the  other  officers 
were  appointed  by  the  State  authorities.  James 
Duane  was  the  first  mayor  thus  appointed.  There 
was  thus  in  one  respect  far  less  local  independ- 
ence, far  less  right  of  local  self-government  granted 
the  city  then  than  now.  The  entire  patronage  or 
appointing  power  was  centralized  in  the  State 
authorities.  On  the  other  hand  the  city  had 
greater  liberty  of  action  in  certain  directions  than 
nowadays.  The  aldermen  formed  a  real  local  leg- 
islature; and  the  city  treasurer  was  actually  ac- 
customed to  issue  paper  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
municipality.  On  the  whole,  however,  American 
cities  have  never  possessed  the  absolute  right  to 
independent  life  and  the  exercise  of  local  sover- 
eignty that  have  been  enjoyed  by  most  European 
burghs.  In  America,  both  in  colonial  days  and 
under  the  national  government,  the  city  has  been 
treated  merely  as  a  geographical  section  of  the 
State,  and  has  been   granted   certain   rights  of 


The  Federalist  City  179 

self-government,  like  other  sections ;  though  those 
rights  are  of  a  peculiar  kind,  because  of  the  pecu- 
liar needs  and  characteristics  of  the  grantee.  They 
can  be  altered,  amended,  enlarged,  or  withdrawn 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  grantor,  the  State  legislature. 
Even  the  enormous  growth  of  the  urban  popu- 
lation during  the  last  half -century  has  not  in  the 
least  altered  the  legal  and  political  status  of  the 
city  as  the  creature  of  the  State. 

Long  before  the  Revolutionary  War  had  closed, 
the  old  government  of  the  confederation  had  dem- 
onstrated its  almost  utter  impotence ;  and  things 
grew  worse  after  the  peace.  The  people  at  large  were 
slow  to  accept  the  idea  that  a  new  and  stronger 
government  was  necessary.  The  struggle  they 
had  just  passed  through  was  one  for  liberty, 
against  power;  and  they  did  not  for  the  moment 
realize  that  license  and  anarchy  are  liberty's  worst 
enemies.  Their  extreme  individualism  and  their 
ultra-independent  feelings,  perpetually  excited 
and  played  upon  by  all  the  legion  of  demagogues, 
inclined  them  to  look  with  suspicion  and  distrust 
upon  the  measures  by  which  alone  they  could  hope 
to  see  their  country  raise  her  head  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  The  best  and  wisest  men 
of  the  land  saw  from  the  first  the  need  of  a  real  and 
strong  union ;  but  the  mass  of  the  people  came  to 
this  idea  with  the  utmost  reluctance.  It  was 
beaten  into  their  minds  by  the    hard    logic  of 


180  New  York 

disaster.  The  outbreak  of  armed  rebellion  in  Mass- 
achusetts and  North  Carolina,  the  general  lawless- 
ness, the  low  tone  of  commercial  honor,  the  bank- 
ruptcy of  the  States  and  their  loss  of  credit  at 
home  and  abroad,  the  contempt  with  which  the 
confederation  was  treated  by  European  nations, 
and  the  jarring  interests  of  the  different  common- 
wealths themselves,  which  threatened  at  any  mo- 
ment to  break  out  into  actual  civil  war, — all  these 
combined  with  the  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  the 
ablest  statesmen  in  the  land,  and  the  vast  weight 
of  Washington's  character  were  needed  to  convince 
an  obstinate,  suspicious,  and  narrow-minded, 
though  essentially  brave,  intelligent,  and  patriotic 
people  that  they  must  cast  aside  their  prejudices 
and  jealousies  and  unite  to  form  a  stable  and  pow- 
erful government.  Had  they  not  thus  united, 
their  triumph  in  the  Revolutionary  War  would 
have  been  a  calamity  for  America  instead  of  a 
blessing.  Freedom  without  unity,  freedom  with 
anarchy,  would  have  been  worse  than  useless. 
The  men  who  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  present 
constitution  of  the  United  States  committed  an 
error  to  the  full  as  great  as  that  of  the  Tories  them- 
selves; and  they  strove  quite  as  hard,  and  for- 
tunately quite  as  unsuccessfully,  to  damage  their 
country.  The  adoption  of  the  constitution  was 
the  completion  of  the  work  begun  by  the  War  of 
Independence.     This  work  had  two  stages,  each 


The  Federalist  City  181 

essential;  and  those  who  opposed  it  during  the 
second  stage,  like  those  who  opposed  it  in  the  first, 
however  honest  of  intent,  did  all  they  could  to 
injure  America.  The  Tory  and  the  disunionist,  or 
nonunionist,  were  equally  dangerous  enemies  of 
the  national  growth  and  well-being. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Federal  government,  and  during  the  imme- 
diately succeeding  period  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Federalists  in  national  affairs  that  New  York  City 
played  its  greatest  and  most  honorable  part  in  the 
government  of  the  nation.  Never  before  or  since 
has  it  occupied  so  high  a  position  politically,  com- 
pared to  the  country  at  large;  for  during  these 
years  it  was  the  seat  of  power  of  the  brilliant  Fed- 
eralist party  of  New  York  State.  Alexander 
Hamilton,  John  Jay,  and  at  the  end  of  the  time 
Gouverneur  Morris,  lived  in  the  city,  or  so  near 
it  as  to  have  practically  the  weight  and  influence 
of  citizens ;  and  it  was  the  home  likewise  of  their 
arch-foe  Aaron  Burr,  the  prototype  of  the  skilful, 
unscrupulous  ward-politician,  so  conspicuous  in 
the  later  periods  of  the  city's  development. 

Hamilton,  the  most  brilliant  American  states- 
man who  ever  lived,  possessing  the  loftiest  and 
keenest  intellect  of  his  time,  was  of  course  easily 
the  foremost  champion  in  the  ranks  of  the  New 
York  Federalists ;  second  to  him  came  Jay,  pure, 
strong  and  healthy  in  heart,  body,  and  mind. 


182  New  York 

Both  of  them  watched  with  uneasy  alarm  the  rapid 
drift  toward  anarchy ;  and  both  put  forth  all  their 
efforts  to  stem  the  tide.  They  were  of  course  too 
great  men  to  fall  in  with  the  views  of  those  whose 
antagonism  to  tyranny  made  them  averse  from 
order.  They  had  little  sympathy  with  the  violent 
prejudices  produced  by  the  war.  In  particular 
they  abhorred  the  vindictive  laws  directed 
against  the  persons  and  property  of  Tories;  and 
they  had  the  manliness  to  come  forward  as  the 
defenders  of  the  helpless  and  excessively  unpopu- 
lar Loyalists.  They  put  a  stop  to  the  wrongs 
which  were  being  inflicted  on  these  men,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  having  them  restored  to  legal 
equality  with  other  citizens,  standing  up  with 
generous  fearlessness  against  the  clamor  of  the 
mob. 

As  soon  as  the  project  for  a  closer  union  of  the 
States  was  broached,  Hamilton  and  Jay  took  it  up 
with  ardor.  New  York  City  followed  their  lead, 
but  the  State  as  a  whole  was  against  them.  The 
most  popular  man  within  its  bounds  was  stout  old 
Governor  Clinton,  and  he  led  the  opposition  to  the 
proposed  union.  Clinton  was  a  man  of  great 
strength  of  character,  a  good  soldier,  and  stanch 
patriot  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  bit- 
terly obstinate  and  prejudiced,  and  a  sincere  friend 
of  popular  rights.  He  felt  genuine  distrust  of  any 
form  of  strong  government.     He  was  also  doubt- 


The  Federalist  City  183 

less  influenced  in  his  opposition  to  the  proposed 
change  by  meaner  motives.  He  was  the  greatest 
man  in  New  York ;  but  he  could  not  hope  ever  to 
be  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  nation.  He  was  the 
ruler  of  a  small  sovereign  State,  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  its  little  army,  the  admiral  of  its  petty 
navy,  the  leader  of  its  politicians ;  and  he  did  not 
wish  to  sacrifice  the  importance  that  all  of  this 
conferred  upon  him.  The  cold,  suspicious  temper 
of  the  small  country  freeholders,  and  the  narrow 
jealousy  they  felt  for  their  neighbors,  gave  him 
excellent  material  on  which  to  work. 

Nevertheless,  Hamilton  won,  thanks  to  the  loy- 
alty with  which  New  York  City  stood  by  him.  By 
untiring  effort  and  masterful  oratory  he  persuaded 
the  State  to  send  three  delegates  to  the  Federal 
constitutional  convention.  He  himself  went  as 
one,  and  bore  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates ;  his 
two  colleagues,  a  couple  of  anti-Federalist  no- 
bodies, early  leaving  him.  He  then  came  back  to 
the  city  where  he  wrote  and  published,  jointly  with 
Madison  and  Jay,  a  series  of  letters,  afterward 
gathered  into  a  volume  called  '  'The  Federalist," — 
a  book  which  ranks  among  the  ablest  and  best 
which  have  ever  been  written  on  politics  and  gov- 
ernment. These  articles  had  a  profound  effect  on 
the  public  mind.  Finally  he  crowned  his  labors 
by  going  as  a  representative  from  the  city  to  the 
State  convention,  and  winning  from  a  hostile  body 


1 84  New  York 

a  reluctant  ratification  of  the  Federal  constitution. 
The  townsmen  were  quicker  witted,  and  polit- 
ically more  far-sighted  and  less  narrow-minded 
than  the  average  country  folk  of  that  day.  The 
artisans,  mechanics,  and  merchants  of  New  York 
were  enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the  Federal  con- 
stitution, and  regarded  Hamilton  as  their  especial 
champion.  To  assist  him  and  the  cause  they 
planned  a  monster  procession,  while  the  State  con- 
vention was  still  sitting.  Almost  every  represen- 
tative body  in  the  city  took  part  in  it.  A  troop 
of  light  horse  in  showy  uniforms  led,  preceded  by  a 
band  of  trumpeters  and  a  light  battery.  Then 
came  a  personator  of  Columbus,  on  horseback, 
surrounded  by  woodsmen  with  axes, — the  axe  be- 
ing pre-eminently  the  tool  and  weapon  of  the 
American  pioneer.  Then  came  farmers  in  farm- 
ers' dress,  driving  horses  and  oxen  yoked  to  both 
plow  and  harrow,  while  a  new  modeled  thresh- 
ing-machine followed.  The  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati came  next.  The  trades  followed :  garden- 
ers in  green  aprons,  tailors,  grain-measurers,  bak- 
ers, with  a  huge  "Federal  loaf"  on  a  platform 
drawn  by  ten  bay  horses;  brewers,  and  coopers, 
with  a  stage  drawn  by  four  horses,  bearing  the 
"Federal  cask,"  which  the  workmen  finished  as 
the  procession  moved ;  butchers,  tanners,  glovers, 
furriers,  carpenters,  masons,  bricklayers,  white- 
smiths, blacksmiths,  cordwainers,  peruke-makers, 


The  Federalist  City  185 

florists,  cabinet-makers,  ivory-turners,  ship- 
wrights, riggers,  and  representatives  of  scores  of 
other  trades.  In  every  part  of  the  procession 
fluttered  banners  with  Hamilton's  figure  and 
name,  and  the  great  feature  of  the  show  was  the 
Federal  ship  Hamilton,  drawn  by  ten  horses. 
It  was  a  thirty-two-gun  frigate  in  miniature, 
twenty-seven  feet  long,  fully  rigged,  and  manned 
by  thirty  seamen  and  marines.  Thirteen  guns 
from  her  deck  gave  the  signal  to  start,  and  saluted 
at  times  during  the  procession.  The  faculty  and 
students  of  the  University,  the  learned  societies 
and  professions,  the  merchants,  and  distinguished 
strangers  brought  up  the  rear.  The  procession 
moved  out  to  the  Bayard  House,  beyond  the  city, 
where  a  feast  for  six  thousand  people  was  served. 

For  the  first  year  of  government  under  the  new 
constitution,  New  York  was  the  Federal  capital. 
It  was  thither  that  Washington  journeyed  to  be 
inaugurated  President  with  stately  solemnity, 
April  30,  1789.  The  city  had  by  this  time  fully 
recovered  its  prosperity ;  and  when  it  became  the 
headquarters  for  the  ablest  statesmen  from  all 
parts  of  the  Union,  its  social  life  naturally  became 
most  attractive,  and  lost  its  provincial  spirit. 
However,  its  term  of  glory  as  the  capital  was  short, 
for  when  Congress  adjourned  in  August,  1790,  it 
was  to  meet  at  Philadelphia. 

The  political  history  of  the   city  during  the 


186  New  York 

twelve  years  of  Washington's  and  Adams's  ad- 
ministrations, is  the  history  of  a  nearly  balanced 
struggle  between  the  Federalists  and  the  anti- 
Federalists,  who  gradually  adopted  the  name, 
first  of  Republicans  and  then  of  Democrats.  As 
always  in  our  political  annals,  individuals  were 
constantly  changing  sides,  often  in  large  numbers ; 
but  as  a  whole,  party  continuity  was  well  pre- 
served. The  men  who  had  favored  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution  grew  into  the  Federal  party; 
the  men  who  had  opposed  it,  and  wished  to  con- 
strue it  as  narrowly  as  possible,  and  to  restrict  the 
powers  of  the  central  government  even  to  the 
point  of  impotence,  became  Jeffersonian  Republi- 
cans. 

Hamilton  and  Jay  were  the  heart  of  the  Feder- 
alist party  in  the  city  and  State.  Both  were 
typical  New  Yorkers  of  their  time, — being  of 
course  the  very  highest  examples  of  the  type,  for 
they  were  men  of  singularly  noble  and  lofty  char- 
acter. Both  were  of  mixed  and  non-English 
blood,  Jay  being  of  Huguenot  and  Hollander  stock, 
and  Hamilton  of  Scotch  and  French  Creole.  Ham- 
ilton, born  out  of  New  York,  was  in  some  ways  a 
more  characteristic  New  Yorker  than  Jay;  for 
New  York,  like  the  French  Revolution,  has  always 
been  pre-eminently  a  career  open  to  talent.  The 
distinguishing  feature  of  the  city  has  been  its 
broad  liberality;  it  throws  the  doors  of  every 


The  Federalist  City  187 

career  wide  open  to  all  adopted  citizens.  Jay- 
lacked  Hamilton's  brilliant  audacity  and  gen- 
ius; but  he  possessed  an  austere  purity  and 
poise  of  character  which  his  greater  companion 
did  not.  He  was  twice  elected  governor  of  the 
State,  serving  from  1795  to  1801 ;  indeed,  he  was 
really  elected  to  the  position  in  1792,  but  was 
cheated  out  of  it  by  most  gross  and  flagrant  elec- 
tion frauds,  carried  on  in  Clinton's  interest,  and 
connived  at  by  him.  His  popularity  was  only 
temporarily  interrupted  even  by  the  storm  of  silly 
and  unwarranted  abuse  with  which  New  York 
City,  like  the  rest  of  the  country,  greeted  the  suc- 
cessful treaty  which  he  negotiated  when  special 
envoy  to  England  in  1794. 

Hamilton  was,  of  course,  the  leader  of  his  party. 
But  his  qualities,  admirably  though  they  fitted 
him  for  the  giant  tasks  of  constructive  statesman- 
ship with  which  he  successfully  grappled,  did  not 
qualify  him  for  party  leadership.  He  was  too  impa- 
tient and  dictatorial,  too  heedless  of  the  small  arts 
and  unwearied,  intelligent  industry  of  the  party 
manager.  In  fighting  for  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution  he  had  been  heartily  supported  by  the 
great  families, — the  Livingstons,  the  Van  Rens- 
selaers,  and  his  own  kin  by  marriage,  the  Schuy- 
lers.  Afterward  he  was  made  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  and  Jay  chief-justice,  while  through  his 
efforts  Schuyler  and  Rufus  King — a  New  York 


188  New  York 

City  man  of  New  England  origin — were  made 
senators.  Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston  was 
not  an  extreme  believer  in  the  ideas  of  Hamilton. 
He  was  also  jealous  of  him,  being  a  very  ambi- 
tious man,  and  was  offended  at  being,  as  he  con- 
ceived, slighted  in  the  distribution  of  the  favors 
of  the  national  administration.  Accordingly,  he 
deserted  to  the  Republicans  with  all  his  very 
influential  family  following.  This  was  the  first 
big  break  in  the  Federalist  ranks. 

When  Washington  was  inaugurated  President 
he  found  that  he  had  a  number  of  appointments  to 
make  in  New  York.  Almost  all  the  men  he  thus 
appointed  were  members  of  the  party  that  had 
urged  the  adoption  of  the  constitution, — for 
Washington,  though  incapable  of  the  bitter  and 
unreasoning  partisanship  which  puts  party  above 
the  public  welfare  and  morality,  was  much  more 
of  a  party  man  than  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  rep- 
resent him,  and  during  the  final  years  of  his  life, 
in  particular,  was  a  strong  Federalist.  Clinton 
distributed  the  much 'larger  and  more  important 
State  patronage  chiefly  among  his  anti- Federalist 
adherents.  As  already  explained,  there  was  then 
no  patronage  at  all  in  the  hands  of  the  local,  that 
is,  the  county  and  city,  authorities;  for  though 
an  immense  amount  was  given  to  the  mayor,  he 
was  really  a  State  official. 

The  parties  were  very  evenly  matched  in  New 


The  Federalist  City  189 

York  City,  no  less  than  in  the  State  at  large,  during 
the  closing  twelve  years  of  the  century, — the 
period  of  Federalist  supremacy  in  the  nation. 
The  city  was  the  pivotal  part  of  the  State,  and  the 
great  fighting-ground.  It  was  carried  alternately 
by  the  Federalists  and  Democrats,  again  and 
again.  Aaron  Burr,  polished,  adroit,  unscrupu- 
lous, was  the  most  powerful  of  the  city  Democracy. 
He  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  to 
succeed  Schuyler,  and  was  in  turn  himself  suc- 
ceeded by  Schuyler.  Hamilton  grew  to  regard 
him  with  especial  dislike  and  distrust,  because  of 
his  soaring  ambition,  his  cunning,  and  his  lack  of 
conscience.  The  Livingstons  backed  him  ardently 
against  the  Federalists,  and  one  of  their  number 
was  elected  and  re-elected  to  Congress  from  the 
city.  De  Witt  Clinton  was  also  forging  to  the 
front,  and  was  a  candidate  for  State  office  from  the 
city  on  more  than  one  occasion,  sharing  in  the 
defeats  and  victories  of  his  party.  Jay's  two  suc- 
cessive victories,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  the  Fed- 
eralists the  governorship  of  the  State  for  six  years. 
Under  Hamilton's  lead  they  won  in  New  York 
City  rather  more  often  than  they  lost.  In  1799 
they  gained  a  complete  victory,  utterly  defeating 
the  Democratic  ticket,  which  was  headed  by  Burr ; 
and  the  legislature  thus  chosen  elected  the  Fed- 
eralist Gouverneur  Morris  to  the  United  States 
Senate.     The  newspapers  reviled  their  opponents 


i9o  New  York 

with  the  utmost  bitterness,  and  often  with  fero- 
cious scurrility.  The  leading  Federalist  editor  in 
the  city  was  the  famous  dictionary-maker,  Noah 
Webster. 

Party  and  personal  feeling  was  intensely  bitter 
all  through  these  contests.  Duels  were  frequent 
among  the  leaders,  and  riots  not  much  less  so 
among  their  followers.  The  mob  turned  out  joy- 
fully, on  mischief  bent,  whenever  there  was  any 
excuse  for  it;  and  the  habit  of  holding  open-air 
meetings,  to  denounce  some  particular  person  or 
measure,  gave  ample  opportunity  for  outbreaks. 
At  these  meetings,  speakers  of  the  for-the-moment 
unpopular  party  were  often  rather  roughly 
handled, — a  proceeding  which  nowadays  would  be 
condemned  by  even  the  most  heated  partisans  as 
against  the  rules  of  fair  play.  The  anti-Feder- 
alists, at  some  of  their  public  meetings,  held  to 
denounce  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  or  to 
break  up  the  gatherings  of  those  who  supported 
it,  got  up  regular  riots  against  their  opponents. 
At  one  of  the  meetings,  held  for  the  purpose  of 
denouncing  Jay's  treaty  with  England, — a  treaty 
which  was  of  great  benefit  to  the  country,  and  the 
best  that  could  then  have  been  negotiated, — 
Hamilton  was  himself  maltreated. 

At  the  approach  of  the  Presidential  election  of 
1800,  Burr  took  the  lead  in  organizing  the  forces 
of  the  Democracy.     He  was  himself  his  party's 


The  Federalist  City  191 

candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency;  and  he  man- 
aged the  campaign  with  consummate  skill.  As 
before,  the  city  was  the  pivotal  part  of  the  State, 
while  the  State's  influence  in  the  election  at  large 
proved  to  be  decisive.  The  Democracy  of  the  city 
was  tending  to  divide  into  three  factions.  The 
Clintons  were  the  natural  leaders ;  but  the  Living- 
ston family  was  very  powerful,  and  was  connected 
by  marriage  with  such  men  as  James  Duane,  a  city 
politician  of  great  weight,  and  Morgan  Lewis, 
afterward  governor ;  and  both  the  Clintonians  and 
Livingstons,  jealous  of  one  another,  were  united 
in  distrust  of  Burr.  Accordingly,  the  latter 
dexterously  managed  to  get  up  a  combination 
ticket  containing  the  names  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  each  faction.  This  secured  him 
against  any  disaffection.  He  then  devoted  him- 
self to  the  work  of  organization.  By  his  tact, 
address,  and  singular  personal  charm,  he  had 
gathered  round  him  a  devoted  band  of  henchmen, 
mostly  active  and  energetic  young  men.  He  made 
out  complete  lists  of  all  the  voters,  and  endeav- 
ored to  find  out  how  each  group  could  be  reached 
and  influenced,  and  he  told  off  every  worker  to  the 
district  where  he  could  do  most  good.  He  was 
indefatigable  in  getting  up  ward  meetings  also. 
Hamilton  fought  him  desperately,  and  with  far 
greater  eloquence,  and  he  was  on  the  right  side; 
but   Hamilton  was  a   statesman  rather   than  a 


192  New  York 

politician.  He  had  quarreled  uselessly  with  some  of 
the  greatest  men  in  his  own  party;  and  he  could 
not  devote  his  mind  to  the  mastery  of  the  petty 
political  detail  and  intrigue  in  which  Burr  reveled. 
Burr  won  the  day  by  a  majority  of  five  hundred 
votes.  As  so  often  since  in  this  city,  the  states- 
man, the  man  of  mark  in  the  national  arena,  went 
down  before  the  skilful  ward-politician. 

Thus  the  great  Federalist  party  fell  from  power, 
not  to  regain  it,  save  in  local  spasms  here  and 
there.  It  was  a  party  of  many  faults, — above  all 
the  one  unforgivable  fault  of  distrusting  the  peo- 
ple,— but  it  was  the  party  which  founded  our  gov- 
ernment, and  ever  most  jealously  cherished  the 
national  honor  and  integrity.  New  York  City  has 
never  produced  any  other  political  leaders  deserv- 
ing to  rank  with  the  group  of  distinguished  Feder- 
alists who  came  from  within,  or  from  just  without, 
her  borders.  She  has  never  since  stood  so  high 
politically,  either  absolutely,  or  relatively  to  the 
rest  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  RULE.       180I-1821. 

IN  the  electoral  college,  Jefferson  and  Burr,  the 
Democratic-Republican  candidates  for  Pres- 
ident and  Vice-President,  had  a  tie  vote 
under  the  curious  system  then  prevailing,  and  this 
left  the  House  of  Representatives  to  decide  which 
should  be  given  the  Presidency.  The  Federalists, 
as  a  whole,  from  hatred  to  Jefferson,  supported 
Burr;  but  Hamilton,  to  his  honor,  opposed  this 
move  with  all  his  might,  and  from  thenceforth  was 
regarded  by  Burr  with  peculiar  and  sinister  hostil- 
ity.    Jefferson  was  finally  chosen. 

In  the  spring  of  1801  the  Democrats  also  elected 
the  veteran  George  Clinton  as  governor,  De  Witt 
Clinton  being  at  the  same  time  made  one  of  the 
Council  of  Appointment.  They  then  for  the  first 
time  had  complete  and  unchecked  control  of  the 
entire  governmental  system  of  the  nation  and 
State,  and  therefore  of  the  city. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  Democratic  party  has 
been  the  dominant  party  in  New  York  City.  Oc- 
casionally, in  some  period  of  violent  political  up- 
heaval, or  at  a  moment  when  the  ever-existing 
faction-fight  in  its  own  ranks  has  been  more  than 
usually  bitter  and  exhausting,  its  opponents  for 
13  l9$ 


194  New  York 

the  time  being,  whether  Federalists,  Whigs,  Re- 
publicans, or  members  of  ephemeral  organizations, 
like  that  of  the  Native  Americans,  have  succeeded 
in  carrying  a  given  election.  But  their  triumph 
has  never  been  more  than  momentary;  after  a 
very  short  time  the  Democracy  has  invariably 
returned  to  power. 

The  complete  Democratic  victory  in  both  State 
and  nation,  under  Clinton  and  Jefferson,  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  definite  enthronement  of  the  system 
of  so-called  ' 'spoils"  politics  in  New  York;  that 
is,  the  system  according  to  which  public  offices  are 
used  to  reward  partisan  activity  became  estab- 
lished as  the  theory  on  which  politics  were  con- 
ducted, not  only  by  the  Democrats,  but  by  Feder- 
alists, Whigs,  and  Republicans,  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time, — though  of  late  years  there  has  been  a 
determined  and  partially  successful  effort  to  over- 
throw it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  politics  had  had 
much  to  do  with  appointments,  even  before  1800; 
but  the  theory  of  making  purely  political  appoint- 
ments had  not  been  openly  avowed,  and  there  had 
been  a  very  real  feeling  against  political  removals. 
Moreover,  there  had  been  comparatively  little 
pressure  to  make  these  removals.  In  national 
affairs  the  Federalists  had  been  supreme  since  the 
constitution  was  adopted,  and  so  had  nobody  to 
remove.  When  Washington  took  the  Presidency, 
the  citizens  were  divided  on  party  lines  accordingly 


n 


Democratic  Rule  195 

as  they  did  or  did  not  favor  the  constitution ;  and 
he  made  his  appointments  in  much  the  greatest 
number  of  cases  from  among  the  former,  although 
allowing  his  political  opponents  a  certain  share  of 
the  offices.  During  his  second  term,  and  during 
Adams's  presidency,  very  few  non-Federalists  in- 
deed were  appointed.  In  New  York  State  Clinton 
was  governor  from  the  organization  of  the  State 
government  until  1795.  He  was  therefore  not 
tempted  to  make  any  removals  for  political  rea- 
sons. Moreover,  the  whole  question  of  removals 
and  appointments  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Council 
of  Appointment,  which  was  sometimes  hostile  to 
the  governor.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  Clin- 
ton's governorship  there  was  practically  but  one 
party  in  the  State ;  after  the  rise  of  the  Federalists 
very  few  of  them  were  appointed  to  office,  Clinton 
dexterously  managing  the  patronage  in  the  interest 
of  his  party  and  personal  friends,  but  always  with 
an  eye  to  the  benefit  of  the  public  at  large.  When 
Jay  succeeded  as  governor,  he  appointed  mainly 
Federalists ;  but  he  rejected  with  indignation  any 
proposition  to  make  removals  merely  for  political 
reasons. 

After  1800  all  this  was  changed.  Jefferson,  as 
has  been  well  said,  enunciated  the  doctrine  that 
1  'to  the  victors  belong  half  the  spoils ; "  nor  did  he 
stop  when  by  removals  and  resignations  half  of  the 
Federalists  had  left  office.     In  fact  it  is  impossible 


196  New  York 

to  act  on  any  such  theory ;  if  half  of  the  offices  are 
taken  as  spoils,  the  other  half  must  follow  suit. 
Most  of  the  national  appointees  in  New  York  were 
speedily  changed;  and  the  remainder  were  tem- 
porarily saved  only  because  Jefferson  had  in  his 
cabinet  one  man,  Albert  Gallatin,  who  abhorred 
a  general  partisan  proscription.  The  wielders  of 
power  in  the  State  government  were  not  so  mod- 
erate. Stout  old  Governor  Clinton  protested 
against  the  meanness  of  making  purely  political 
removals ;  but  he  was  overruled  by  the  Council  of 
Appointment,  which  was  led  by  his  nephew,  De 
Witt  Clinton.  The  latter  had  adapted  Jefferson's 
theory  to  New  York  conditions,  and  declared  that 
all  heads  of  cities,  of  counties,  of  big  offices  and  the 
like,  ought  to  be  political  adherents  of  the  admin- 
istration, while  all  minor  office-holders  should  be 
apportioned  between  the  parties  according  to  their 
numbers.  Of  course  this  meant  in  practice  that 
all  Federalists  were  to  be  removed  and  Democrats 
appointed  in  their  places.  In  other  words,  the 
victors  promptly  proceeded  to  make  a  clean  sweep 
of  all  the  State,  and  therefore  all  the  local,  offices. 
The  city  had  been  the  stronghold  of  Federalism, 
and  its  officers  were  among  the  first  to  feel  the  axe. 
Richard  Varick  had  made  a  most  admirable  mayor 
for  twelve  years.  He  was  now  summarily  re- 
moved and  Edward  Livingston  appointed  in  his 
place.     Livingston  at  the  same  time  was  also 


Democratic  Rule  197 

given,  by  the  national  government,  the  position  of 
United  States  District  Attorney.  The  mayoralty 
was  a  much  coveted  prize,  as  the  incumbent  not 
only  presided  over  the  common  council  and  wielded 
much  patronage,  but  was  also  presiding  judge 
of  a  court  of  record  with  peculiar  and  extensive 
powers.  His  emoluments  came  in  the  shape  of 
fees  and  perquisites,  arranged  on  such  a  liberal 
scale  as  to  form  a  very  large  salary.  When  Liv- 
ingston left  the  office  it  was  given  to  De  Witt 
Clinton,  then  United  States  senator;  and  he  ac- 
tually resigned  from  the  Senate  to  take  it.  How- 
ever, the  Senate  was  not  then  held  in  as  high  re- 
gard as  now.  About  this  time  another  New  York 
senator  resigned  for  the  purpose  of  accepting  the 
city  postmastership. 

A  dozen  members  and  connections  of  the  Liv- 
ingston family  were  appointed  to  important  offices, 
the  entire  patronage  of  the  State  being  divided 
between  them  and  the  Clintonians.  They  had 
formed  an  alliance  to  crush  Burr, — receiving  the 
hearty  support  of  Jefferson,  who  always  strove  to 
break  down  any  possible  rival  in  his  party.  From 
this  time  on  every  faction  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  turn,  when  it  was  in  power,  used  the  patronage 
mercilessly  against  its  antagonists  within  and 
without  the  party,  making  a  clean  sweep  of  the 
offices ;  and  so  did  the  Federalists,  when  for  a  brief 
moment,  just  before  the  War  of  181 2,  they  again 


198  New  York 

took  the  reins  of  government  in  the  State.  It  was 
of  course  but  a  short  step  from  making  removals 
for  political  reasons,  without  regard  to  the  fitness 
of  the  incumbent,  to  making  appointments  in 
which  considerations  of  political  expediency  out- 
weighed considerations  of  propriety.  The  step 
was  soon  taken.  The  Council  of  Appointment 
even  occasionally  gave  lucrative  local  offices  in  the 
city  of  New  York  to  influential  partisans  of  loose 
character  from  remote  sections  of  the  State. 

The  Clintonians  and  Livingstons,  backed  by  all 
the  weight  of  the  national  administration,  reduced 
Burr's  influence  in  the  Democratic  party  to  a  nul- 
lity, and  finally  drove  him  out.  He  was  not 
renominated  for  Vice-President,  George  Clinton 
being  put  in  his  place.  In  the  State  election, 
about  the  same  time,  Chancellor  Livingston's 
brother-in-law,  Morgan  Lewis,  was  nominated  for 
governor.  Burr  ran  for  the  office  as  an  Independ- 
ent, hoping  to  carry  not  only  his  own  faction  of 
the  Democracy,  but  also  the  entire  Federalist  vote. 
The  majority  of  the  Federalists  did  support  him; 
but  a  large  number,  under  Hamilton's  lead,  re- 
fused to  do  so,  and  though  he  just  carried  the  city, 
he  was  beaten  overwhelmingly  in  the  State  at 
large. 

Burr  was  now  a  ruined  man,  hated  by  all  fac- 
tions and  parties.  Nevertheless,  he  played  out 
the  losing  game  to  the  last  with  unmoved  force 


Democratic  Rule 


199 


and  unflinching  resolution ;  and  he  took  cool  and 
ferocious  vengeance  on  his  greatest  and  most 
formidable  foe,  Hamilton.  The  duel  was  then  a 
recognized  feature  of  society  and  politics,  and  had 
become  a  characteristic  adjunct  of  the  savage 
party  contests  in  New  York.  One  of  Burr's  follow- 
ers had  killed  Hamilton's  eldest  son  in  a  duel ;  and 
another  had  been  severely  wounded  by  De  Witt 
Clinton  in  a  similar  encounter.  In  1804,  after  his 
defeat  for  the  governorship,  Burr  forced  a  duel  on 
Hamilton,  and  mortally  wounded  him  in  a  meeting 
with  pistols  at  Weehawken,  then  a  favorite  resort 
for  duelists.  Hamilton's  death  caused  the  ut- 
most horror  and  anger.  The  whole  city  mourned 
him,  even  his  political  opponents  forgetting  all 
save  his  generous  and  noble  qualities,  and  the  re- 
nown of  his  brilliant  statesmanship.  Burr  was 
thenceforth  an  ostracized  man;  and  dueling  in 
New  York  received  its  death-blow. 

In  1807,  when  Governor  Lewis's  successor  in  the 
governorship  was  to  be  nominated,  the  Clintonian 
or  popular  wing  of  the  Democracy  turned  on  him, 
defeated  him  for  the  nomination,  and  drove  the 
Livingston  family  from  power,  serving  them  pre- 
cisely as  the  two  factions  together  had  already 
served  the  Burrites.  For  a  few  years  longer  the 
Livingstons  continued  to  have  a  certain  influence 
in  the  State ;  and  while  the  Federal  party  was  still 
of  some  weight,  one  or  two  of  the  great  Federalist 


200  New  York 

families — notably  the  Van  Rensselaers — counted 
for  a  good  deal  in  the  political  world.  After  the 
close  of  the  War  of  1812,  however,  the  Federalists 
became  of  no  moment,  and  the  Livingstons,  the 
aristocratic  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  sank  out 
of  sight.  The  reign  of  the  great  families  who  for 
over  a  century  had  played  so  prominent  a  part  in 
New  York  political  life,  was  then  at  an  end.  They 
lost  every  shred  of  political  power,  and  the  com- 
monwealth became  what  it  had  long  been  becom- 
ing, in  fact  as  well  as  name,  absolutely  democratic. 
The  aristocratic  leaven  in  the  loaf  disappeared 
completely.  The  sway  of  the  people  was  absolute 
from  that  time  on. 

After  Washington,  the  greatest  and  best  of  the 
Federalist  leaders,  died,  and  after  the  Jeffersonian 
Democrats  came  into  power,  the  two  parties  in 
New  York,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  country, 
began  to  divide  on  a  very  humiliating  line.  They 
fought  each  other  largely  on  questions  of  foreign 
politics.  The  Federalists  supported  the  British 
in  the  European  struggle  then  raging,  and  the 
Democrats  the  French.  One  side  became  known 
as  the  British,  the  other  as  the  French  faction. 
Each  man  with  abject  servility  apologized  for 
and  defended  the  numerous  outrages  committed 
against  us  by  the  nation  whose  cause  his  party 
championed.  It  was  a  thoroughly  unwholesome 
and   discreditable   condition   of   politics, — worse 


Democratic  Rule  201 

than  anything  we  have  seen  in  the  country  foi 
many  years  past.  Neither  party  at  this  time  was 
truly  national  or  truly  American.  To  their  honor 
be  it  said,  however,  many  of  the  New  York  Demo- 
crats refused  to  go  with  the  extreme  Jeffersonians, 
as  regards  the  embargo  and  subsequent  matters. 
Moreover,  the  Federalists,  in  their  turn,  with  the 
exception  of  a  minority  led  by  Gouverneur  Morris, 
refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  secessionist  move- 
ments of  their  party  friends  in  New  England,  dur- 
ing the  War  of  181 2.  After  this  war  the  Federal- 
ists gradually  disappeared ;  while  their  opponents 
split  into  a  perfect  tangle  of  factions,  whose  in- 
numerable fights  and  squabbles  it  is  nearly  impos- 
sible and  entirely  unnecessary  to  relate  in  intelli- 
gible form.  During  all  this  period  the  political 
bitterness  was  intense,  as  the  scurrility  of  the 
newspapers  bore  witness.  One  of  its  most  curious 
manifestations  was  in  connection  with  the  charter- 
ing of  banks.  These  were  then  chartered  by 
special  acts  of  the  legislature;  and  it  was  almost 
absolutely  impossible  for  a  bank  of  which  the 
officers  and  stockholders  belonged  to  one  party 
to  get  a  charter  from  a  legislature  controlled  by 
the  other.  Aaron  Burr  once  accomplished  the 
feat,  before  the  Federalist  overthrow  in  1800,  by 
taking  advantage  of  the  cry  in  New  York  for  better 
water.  He  prepared  a  bill  chartering  a  company 
to  introduce  water  into  the  city,  and  tacked  on  an 


202  New  York 

innocent-looking  provision  allowing  them  to  or- 
ganize '  'for  other  purposes  "  as  well.  The  charter 
once  granted,  the  company  went  into  no  other 
enterprise  save  banking,  and  let  the  water-supply 
take  care  of  itself. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century,  New  York  was 
a  town  of  sixty  thousand  inhabitants.  The  social 
life  was  still  aristocratic.  The  great  families  yet 
retained  their  prestige.  Indeed,  the  Livingstons 
were  at  the  zenith  of  their  power  in  the  State,  and 
possessed  enormous  influence,  socially  and  politi- 
cally. They  were  very  wealthy,  and  lived  in  much 
state,  with  crowds  of  liveried  negro  servants,  free 
and  slave.  Their  city  houses  were  large  and  hand- 
some, and  their  great  country-seats  dotted  the 
beautiful  banks  of  the  Hudson. 

The  divisions  between  the  upper,  middle,  and 
lower  classes  were  sharply  marked.  The  old  fami- 
lies formed  a  rather  exclusive  circle,  and  among 
them  the  large  landowners  still  claimed  the  lead, 
though  the  rich  merchants,  who  were  of  similar 
ancestry,  much  outnumbered  them,  and  stood 
practically  on  the  same  plane.  But  the  days  of 
this  social  and  political  aristocracy  were  num- 
bered. They  lost  their  political  power  first,  being 
swamped  in  the  rising  democratic  tide ;  and  their 
social  primacy — mere  emptiness  when  thus  left 
unsupported — followed  suit  a  generation  or  so 
later,    when    their    descendants    were    gradually 


Democratic  Rule  203 

ousted  even  from  this  last  barren  rock  of  refuge  by 
those  whose  fathers  or  grandfathers  had,  out  of  the 
humblest  beginnings,  made  their  own  huge  for- 
tunes. The  fall  of  this  class,  as  a  class,  was  not  to 
be  regretted;  for  its  individual  members  did  not 
share  the  general  fate  unless  they  themselves  de- 
served to  fall.  The  descendant  of  any  old  family 
who  was  worth  his  salt,  still  had  as  fair  a  chance 
as  any  one  else  to  make  his  way  in  the  world  of 
politics,  of  business,  or  of  literature ;  and  accord- 
ing to  our  code  and  standard,  the  man  who  asks 
more  is  a  craven. 

However,  the  presence  of  the  great  families 
undoubtedly  gave  a  pleasant  flavor  to  the  gay 
social  life  of  New  York  during  the  early  years  of 
the  century.  It  had  a  certain  half-provincial 
dignity  of  its  own.  The  gentlemen  still  dressed, 
with  formal  and  elaborate  care,  in  the  costume 
then  worn  by  the  European  upper  classes, — a  cos- 
tume certainly  much  more  picturesque,  if  less 
comfortable,  than  that  of  the  present  day.  The 
ladies  were  more  apt  to  follow  the  fashions  of  Paris 
than  of  London.  All  well-to-do  persons  kept  their 
own  heavy  carriages,  and  often  used  them  for 
journeys  no  less  than  for  pleasure  drives.  The 
social  season  was  at  its  height  in  the  winter,  when 
there  was  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  dinners, 
balls,  tea-parties,  and  card-parties.  One  of  the 
great  attractions  was  the  Park  Theater,  capable 


204  New  York 

of  holding  twelve  hundred  persons,  and  always 
thronged  when  there  was  a  good  play  on  the 
boards.  Large  sleighing-parties  were  among  the 
favorite  pastimes,  dinner  being  taken  at  some  one 
of  the  half-dozen  noted  taverns  a  few  miles  with- 
out the  city,  while  the  drive  back  was  made  by 
torchlight  if  there  was  no  moon.  Marriages  were 
scenes  of  great  festivity.  In  summer  the  fashion- 
able promenade  was  the  Battery  Park,  with  its 
rows  and  clumps  of  shade-trees,  and  broad  walk 
by  the  water ;  and  on  still  nights  there  was  music 
played  in  boats  on  the  water.  The  "gardens" 
— such  as  Columbia  Gardens,  and  Mt.  Vernon 
Gardens1  on  Broadway — were  also  meeting-places 
in  hot  weather.  They  were  enclosed  pieces  of 
open  ground,  covered  with  trees,  from  which  col- 
ored lanterns  hung  in  festoons.  There  were  foun- 
tains in  the  middle,  and  little  tables  at  which  ice- 
cream was  served.  Round  the  edges  were  boxes 
and  stalls,  sometimes  in  tiers;  and  there  was 
usually  a  fine  orchestra.  When  the  hot  months 
approached,  the  custom  was  to  go  to  some  fash- 
ionable watering-place,  such  as  Ballston  Springs, 
where  the  gaiety  went  on  unchecked. 

The  houses  of  the  well-to-do  were  generally  of 
brick,  and  those  of  the  poorer  people  of  wood. 
There  were  thirty-odd  churches;  and  the  two 
principal  streets  or  roads  were  Broadway  and  the 

1  This  was  at  Leonard  Street,  then  "a  little  out  of  town." 


Democratic  Rule  205 

Bowery.  After  nightfall  the  streets  were  lighted 
with  oil  lamps;  each  householder  was  obliged  to 
keep  the  part  of  the  thoroughfare  in  front  of  his 
own  house  clean  swept.  There  were  large  mar- 
kets for  vegetables,  fruits,  and  meat,  brought  in 
by  the  neighboring  farmers,  and  for  fish  and  game, 
— Long  Island  furnishing  abundance  of  venison, 
and  of  prairie  fowl,  or,  as  they  were  then  called, 
heath  hens.  Hickory  wood  was  generally  used 
for  fuel ;  the  big  chimneys  being  cleaned  by  negro 
sweep  boys.  Milk  was  carried  from  house  to  house  in 
great  cans,  by  men  with  wooden  yokes  across  their 
shoulders.  The  well-water  was  very  bad;  and 
pure  spring-water  from  without  the  city  was 
hawked  about  the  streets  in  carts,  and  sold  by  the 
gallon. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  the  city  was  very  bad. 
A  considerable  foreign  immigration  had  begun, — 
though  a  mere  trickle  compared  to  what  has  come 
in  since, — and  these  immigrants,  especially  the 
Irish,  lived  in  cellars  and  miserable  hovels.  Every 
few  years  the  city  was  scourged  by  a  pestilence  of 
yellow  fever.  Then  every  citizen  who  could,  left 
town ;  and  among  those  who  remained,  the  death 
rate  ran  up  far  into  the  hundreds. 

As  the  city  grew,  the  class  of  poor  who  were 
unable,  at  least  in  times  of  stress,  to  support  them- 
selves, grew  likewise;  and  organized  charities 
were  started  in  the  effort  to  cope  with  the  evil. 


206  New  York 

Orphan  asylums  and  hospitals  were  built.  So- 
cieties for  visiting  the  poor  in  their  homes  were 
started,  and  did  active  work, — and  by  their  very 
existence  showed  how  much  New  York  already 
differed  from  the  typical  American  country  dis- 
trict or  village,  where  there  were  few  so  poor  as  to 
need  such  relief,  and  hardly  any  who  would  not 
have  resented  it  as  an  insult.  As  early  as  1798 
one  society  reported  that  it  had  supported  through 
a  hard  winter  succeeding  a  summer  of  unusual 
sickness,  over  three  hundred  widows  and  orphans 
who  would  otherwise  have  had  to  take  refuge  in 
the  almshouse.  It  goes  without  saying,  however, 
that  this  acute  poverty  was  always  local  and  tem- 
porary; there  was  then  no  opportunity  for  the 
pauperism  and  misery  of  overcrowded  tenement- 
house  districts. 

The  first  savings-bank  was  established  in  18 16. 
The  foundations  of  our  free-school  system  were 
laid  in  1805.  The  Dutch  had  supported  schools 
at  the  public  expense  during  their  time  of  su- 
premacy; but  after  their  government  was  over- 
turned, the  schooling  had  been  left  to  private 
effort.  Every  church  had  its  own  school,  learning 
being  still  the  special  property  of  the  clergy ;  and 
there  were  plenty  of  private  schools  and  charity 
free  schools  in  addition.  Public-spirited  citizens, 
however,  felt  that  in  a  popular  government  the 
first  duty  of  the  State  was  to  see  that  the  chil- 


Democratic  Rule  207 

dren  of  its  citizens  were  trained  as  they  should  be. 
Accordingly,  a  number  of  prominent  citizens 
organized  themselves  into  a  society  to  establish  a 
free  school,  obtained  a  charter  from  the  legisla- 
ture, and  opened  their  school  in  1806.  They  ex- 
pressly declared  that  their  aim  was  only  to  provide 
for  the  education  of  such  poor  children  as  were  not 
provided  for  by  any  religious  society ;  for  at  that 
time  the  whole  theory  of  education  was  that  it 
should  be  religious,  and  almost  all  schools  were 
sectarian.  The  free  schools  increased  in  number 
under  the  care  of  the  society,  and  finally  grew  to 
be  called  public  schools;  and  by  growth  and 
change  the  system  was  gradually  transformed, 
until  one  of  the  cardinal  points  of  public  policy  in 
New  York,  as  elsewhere  in  the  northern  United 
States,  became  the  establishment  of  free,  non- 
sectarian  public  schools,  supported  and  managed 
by  the  State,  and  attended  by  the  great  mass  of 
the  children  who  go  to  school  at  all.  The  secta- 
rian schools,  all-important  before  the  rise  of  the 
public-school  system,  have  now  been  thrust  into 
an  entirely  secondary  position.  Perhaps  the  best 
work  of  the  public  school  has  been  in  the  direction 
of  Americanizing  immigrants,  or  rather  the  chil- 
dren of  immigrants;  and  it  would  be  almost  im- 
possible to  overestimate  the  good  it  has  accom- 
plished in  this  direction. 

Many    scientific    and    literary    societies    were 


208  New  York 

founded  in  New  York  early  in  the  present  century. 
The  city  began  to  have  room  for  an  occasional 
man  of  letters  or  science,  in  addition  to  the  multi- 
tude of  lawyers  and  clergymen, — the  lawyer,  in 
particular,  occupying  the  front  rank  in  Revo- 
lutionary and  post-Revolutionary  days.  A  queer, 
versatile  scholar  and  student  of  science,  who  also 
dabbled  in  politics  and  philanthropy,  Dr.  Samuel 
Latham  Mitchell,  was  one  of  New  York's  most 
prominent  and  most  eccentric  characters  at  this 
time.  Charles  Brockden  Brown  published  one  or 
two  mystical  novels  which  in  their  day  had  a  cer- 
tain vogue,  even  across  the  Atlantic,  but  are  now 
only  remembered  as  being  the  earliest  American 
ventures  of  the  kind;  and  in  1807  Washington 
Irving  may  be  said  to  have  first  broken  ground  in 
the  American  field  of  true  literature  with  his 
"Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York." 

This  same  year  of  1807  was  rendered  note- 
worthy by  the  beginning  of  steam  navigation. 
Robert  Fulton,  after  many  failures,  at  last  in- 
vented a  model  that  would  work,  and  took  his 
steamboat,  the  Clermont,  on  a  trial  trip  from  New 
York  to  Albany  and  back.  Thus  he  began  the  era 
of  travel  by  steam,  to  which,  more  than  to  any 
other  one  of  the  many  marvelous  discoveries  and 
inventions  of  the  age,  we  owe  the  mighty  and  far- 
reaching  economic  and  social  changes  which  this 
century  has  witnessed.     Fulton's  claim  to  the 


Democratic  Rule  209 

discovery  was  disputed  by  a  score  of  men, — 
among  them  his  fellow-citizens,  John  Fitch,  Nich- 
olas Roosevelt,  and  John  Stevens,  all  of  whom  had 
built  steamboats  which  had  just  not  succeeded. 
But  the  fact  remained  that  he  was  the  first  one  to 
apply  the  principle  successfully;  and  to  him  the 
credit  belongs.  Very  soon  there  were  a  number 
of  American  steamboats  in  existence.  In  181 1 
Nicholas  Roosevelt  introduced  them  on  the 
Mississippi,while  Stevens  took  his  to  the  Delaware. 
During  the  War  of  181 2  Fulton  planned  and  built 
at  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  Congress,  a 
great  steam  frigate,  with  cannon-proof  sides  and 
heavy  guns;  she  worked  well,  but  peace  was  de- 
clared just  before  she  was  ready,  otherwise  she 
would  probably  have  anticipated  the  feats  of  the 
Merrimac  by  half  a  century. 

It  was  a  calamity  to  the  city  that  this  steam 
frigate  was  not  ready  earlier;  for  New  York  was 
blockaded  closely  throughout  this  war,  which  was 
far  from  popular  with  her  merchants.  Yet  they 
ought  to  have  seen  that  the  war  was  most  neces- 
sary to  their  commercial  well-being,  no  less  than 
to  their  honor  and  national  self-respect;  for  the 
frigates  of  Britain  had  for  a  dozen  years  of  nomi- 
nal peace  kept  the  city  under  a  more  or  less  severe 
blockade,  in  the  exercise  of  the  odious  right  of 
search.  They  kept  a  strict  watch  over  all  out- 
going and  incoming  ships,  hovering  off  the  coast 
14 


210  New  York 

like  hawks,  and  cruising  in  the  lower  bay,  firing 
on  coasters  and  merchantmen  to  bring  them  to. 
Once  they  even  killed  one  of  the  crew  of  a  coaster 
in  this  manner,  and  the  outrage  went  unavenged. 
When  war  at  last  came,  many  of  the  ardent  young 
men  of  the  city,  who  had  chafed  under  the  insults 
to  which  they  had  been  exposed,  went  eagerly  into 
the  business  of  privateering,  which  combined  both 
profit  and  revenge.  New  York  sent  scores  of 
privateers  to  sea  to  prey  on  the  enemy's  com- 
merce ;  and  formidable  craft  they  were,  especially 
toward  the  end  of  the  war,  when  the  typical  priva- 
teer was  a  large  brig  or  schooner  of  wonderful 
speed  and  beauty,  well  armed  and  heavily  manned. 
The  lucky  cruiser,  when  many  prizes  were  taken, 
brought  wealth  to  owner,  captain,  and  crew ;  and 
some  of  the  most  desperate  sea-struggles  of  the 
kind  on  record  took  place  between  New  York 
privateers  of  this  class  and  boat  expeditions,  sent 
to  cut  them  out  by  hostile  frigates  or  squadrons, — 
the  most  famous  instance  being  the  really  remark- 
able fight  of  the  brig  General  Armstrong  at 
Fayal. 

With  the  close  of  the  war,  the  beginning  of  im- 
migration from  Europe  on  a  vast  scale,  and  the 
adoption  of  a  more  radically  democratic  State 
constitution,  the  history  of  old  New  York  may  be 
said  to  have  come  to  an  end,  and  that  of  the  mod- 
ern city,  with  its  totally  different  conditions,  to 


Democratic  Rule  21 1 

have  begun.  The  town  has  never,  before  or  since, 
had  a  population  so  nearly  homogeneous  as  just 
after  this  second  war  with  Great  Britain;  the 
English  blood  has  never  been  so  nearly  dominant 
as  at  that  time,  nor  the  English  speech  so  nearly 
the  sole  speech  in  common  use.  The  Dutch  lan- 
guage had  died  out,  and  the  Dutch  themselves  had 
become  completely  assimilated.  With  the  Hu- 
guenot French  this  was  even  more  completely  the 
case.1  German  was  only  spoken  by  an  insignifi- 
cant and  dwindling  remnant.  Of  the  Irish  immi- 
grants, most  had  become  absorbed  in  the  popu- 
lation ;  the  remainder  was  too  small  to  be  of  any 
importance.  The  negroes  no  longer  formed  a 
noteworthy  element  in  the  population,  and  grad- 
ual emancipation,  begun  in  1799,  became  complete 
by  1827.  For  thirty-five  years  after  the  Revo- 
lution the  great  immigration  was  from  New  Eng- 
land, and  the  consequent  influx  of  nearly  pure 
English  blood  was  enormous.  The  old  New 
Yorkers  regarded  this  "New  England  invasion," 
as  they  called  it,  with  jealous  hostility;  but  this 
feeling  was  a  mere  sentiment,  for  the  newcomers 
speedily  became  almost  indistinguishable  from  the 
old  residents.  ,  Even  in  religious  matters  the 
people  were  more  in  unison  than  ever  before  or 
since.     The    bitter    jealousies    and    antagonisms 

1  However,  one  Huguenot  church  has  always  kept  up  its 
language,  mainly  for  the  use  of  foreigners. 


212  New  York 

between  the  different  Protestant  sects,  so  charac- 
teristic of  colonial  times,  had  greatly  softened; 
and  Roman  Catholicism  was  not  as  yet  of  impor- 
tance. There  was  still  no  widespread  and  grinding 
poverty,  and  there  were  no  colossal  fortunes.  The 
conditions  of  civic  or  municipal  life  then  were  in 
no  way  akin  to  what  they  are  now,  and  none  of  the 
tremendous  problems  with  which  we  must  now 
grapple  had  at  that  time  arisen. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    GROWTH     OF    THE    COMMERCIAL    AND    DEMO- 
CRATIC CITY.       1821-1860. 

IN  1820  New  York  City  contained  about  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  demand  for  a  more  democratic  State 
constitution  found  its  realization  in  the  conven- 
tion of  1822.  The  constitutional  amendments 
proposed  and  adopted  at  this  time,  and  in  the 
following  years,  were  in  the  direction  of  increasing 
the  direct  influence  of  the  people  by  widening  the 
suffrage,  and  of  decentralizing  power  and  increas- 
ing the  amount  of  local  self-government.  The 
Council  of  Appointment  was  abolished.  In  1822 
the  suffrage  was  given  to  all  taxpayers;  and  in 
1826  all  property  qualifications  were  abolished, 
except  in  the  case  of  negroes,  who  were  still  re- 
quired to  be  freeholders.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
the  most  bitter  opponents  of  negro  suffrage  were 
the  very  men  who  most  zealously  championed 
universal  suffrage  for  all  white  citizens,  no  matter 
how  poor  and  ignorant ;  while  on  the  other  hand, 
the  old  Federalists  and  Conservatives  who  stren- 
uously opposed  universal  suffrage,  and  prophesied 
that  it  would  bring  dire  disaster  on  the  State, 
favored  granting  equal  rights  to  the  blacks.     It 

313 


214  New  York 

is  small  wonder  that  the  free  blacks  should  gener- 
ally have  voted  with  the  Federalists, — precisely 
as  at  a  later  date  in  the  Southern  States,  as  for 
instance  North  Carolina,  such  of  the  free  blacks  as 
even  in  the  days  of  slavery  were  allowed  to  vote, 
always  followed  the  lead  of  the  local  gentry.  The 
white  mob  which  detested  the  white  '  'aristocrats,'' 
and  believed  in  the  most  absolute  democracy 
among  the  whites  themselves,  clamored  loudly 
against  the  blacks,  and  favored  the  establishment 
of  aristocratic  and  inferior  castes  separated  by  the 
color  line.  The  conduct  of  the  popular  party 
toward  the  negroes  was  the  reverse  of  cred- 
itable. 

Under  the  constitution  of  1822  the  mayor  of 
New  York  was  chosen  by  the  municipal  council ; 
after  1834  he  was  elected  by  the  citizens.  The 
constitution  of  1846,  the  high-water  mark  of 
democracy,  which  made  some  very  good  and  a  few 
very  bad  changes  in  the  State  government,  af- 
fected the  municipal  system  comparatively  little, 
with  the  important  exception  that  it  provided  for 
the  election  not  only  of  local  but  of  judicial  officers. 
The  election  of  judges  by  universal  suffrage  in  this 
great  city,  even  though  it  has  worked  much  better 
than  was  expected,  has  nevertheless  now  and  then 
worked  badly.  Still  the  long  terms  and  high 
salaries,  and  above  all  the  general  popular  appre- 
ciation of  the  high  honor  and  dignity  conferred  by 


Growth  of  the  City  215 

the  office,  have  hitherto  given  us  on  the  whole 
a  very  good  bench. 

The  distinguishing  features  of  the  life  of  the  city 
between  1820  and  i860  were  its  steady  and  rapid 
growth  in  population,  the  introduction  of  an  abso- 
lutely democratic  system  of  government,  the  im- 
mense immigration  from  abroad,  completely 
changing  the  ethnic  character  of  the  population, 
the  wonderful  growth  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  the  great  material  prosperity,  to- 
gether with  the  vast  fortunes  made  by  many  of  the 
business  men,  usually  of  obscure  and  humble 
ancestry. 

The  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  gave  an  extraor- 
dinary impetus  to  the  development  of  the  city. 
The  canal  had  been  planned,  and  reports  concern- 
ing it  drawn  up,  at  different  times  by  various  New 
York  citizens,  notably  by  Gouverneur  Morris ;  but 
the  work  was  actually  done,  in  spite  of  violent  op- 
position, by  De  Witt  Clinton.  Clinton  was,  more 
than  any  other  man,  responsible  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  degrading  system  of  spoils  politics 
into  the  State ;  most  of  his  political  work  was  mere 
faction  fighting  for  his  own  advancement ;  and  he 
was  too  jealous  of  all  competitors,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  a  great  enough  man,  ever  to  become  an 
important  figure  in  the  national  arena.  But  he 
was  sincerely  proud  of  his  city  and  State,  and  very 
much  interested  in  all  philanthropic,  scientific,  and 


216  New  York 

industrial  movements  to  promote  their  honor  and 
material  welfare.  He  foresaw  the  immense  bene- 
fits that  would  be  brought  about  by  the  canal,  and 
the  practicability  of  constructing  it;  and  by  in- 
domitable resolution  and  effort  he  at  last  com- 
mitted the  State  to  the  policy  he  wished.  In  1 81 7 
the  work  was  started,  and  in  1825  it  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  canal  opened. 

During  the  same  period  regular  lines  of  steam- 
boats were  established  on  both  the  Hudson  and  the 
Sound;  and  the  steamboat  service  soon  became 
of  great  commercial  importance.  It  was  a  couple 
of  decades  later  before  the  railroads  became  fac- 
tors in  the  city's  development,  but  they  soon  com- 
pletely distanced  the  steamboats,  and  finally  even 
the  canal  itself;  and  as  line  after  line  multiplied, 
they  became  the  great  inland  feeders  of  New 
York's  commerce.  The  electric  telegraph  likewise 
was  introduced  before  the  middle  of  the  century; 
and,  as  with  the  steamboat,  its  father,  the  man  who 
first  put  it  into  practical  operation,  was  a  New 
Yorker,  Samuel  Morse, — though  there  were  scores 
of  men  who  had  perceived  its  possibilities,  and 
vainly  striven  to  translate  them  into  actual  use- 
fulness. Steam  transportation  and  electricity 
have  been  the  two  prime  factors  in  the  great  com- 
mercial and  industrial  revolutions  of  this  century ; 
and  New  York  has  produced  the  two  men  who 
deserve  the  most  credit  for  their  introduction. 


Growth  of  the  City  217 

Fulton  and  Morse  stand  as  typical  of  the  inventive, 
mechanical,  and  commercial  genius  of  the  city  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. 

Few  commercial  capitals  have  ever  grown  with 
more  marvelous  rapidity  than  New  York.  The 
great  merchants  and  men  of  affairs  who  have  built 
up  her  material  prosperity,  have  not  merely  en- 
riched themselves  and  their  city ;  they  have  also 
played  no  inconsiderable  part  in  that  rapid  open- 
ing up  of  the  American  continent  during  the  pres- 
ent century,  which  has  been  rendered  possible  by 
the  eagerness  and  far-reaching  business  ambition 
of  commercial  adventurers,  wielding  the  wonder- 
ful tools  forged  by  the  science  of  our  day.  The 
merchant,  the  '  'railroad  king,"  the  capitalist  who 
works  or  gambles  for  colossal  stakes,  bending  to 
his  purpose  an  intellect  in  its  way  as  shrewd  and 
virile  as  that  of  any  statesman  or  warrior, — all 
these,  and  their  compeers,  are  and  have  been 
among  the  most  striking  and  important,  although 
far  from  the  noblest,  figures  of  nineteenth-century 
America. 

Two  New  Yorkers  of  great  note  in  this  way  may 
be  instanced  as  representatives  of  their  class, — 
John  Jacob  Astor  and  Cornelius  Vanderbilt.  As- 
tor  was  originally  a  German  pedler,  who  came  to 
the  city  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution. He  went  into  the  retail  fur-trade,  and  by 
energy,  thrift,  and  far-sightedness,  soon  pushed 


218  New  York 

his  way  up  so  as  to  be  able  to  command  a  large 
amount  of  capital ;  and  he  forthwith  embarked  on 
ventures  more  extensive  in  scale.  The  fur-trade 
was  then  in  the  North  almost  what  the  trade  in 
gold  and  silver  had  been  in  the  South.  Vast  for- 
tunes were  made  in  it,  and  the  career  of  the  fur- 
trader  was  checkered  by  romantic  successes  and 
hazardous  vicissitudes.  Astor  made  money  with 
great  rapidity,  and  entered  on  a  course  of  rivalry 
with  the  huge  fur  companies  of  Canada.  Finally, 
in  1809,  he  organized  the  American  Fur  Company, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  State  of  New  York,  with 
no  less  a  purpose  than  the  establishment  of  a  set- 
tlement of  trappers  and  fur-traders  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia.  He  sent  his  parties  out  both  by 
sea  and  overland,  established  his  posts,  and  drove 
a  thriving  trade;  and  doubtless  he  would  have 
anticipated  by  a  generation  the  permanent  settle- 
ment of  Oregon,  if  the  war  had  not  broken  out, 
and  his  colony  been  destroyed  by  the  British.  The 
most  substantial  portion  of  his  fortune  was  made 
out  of  successful  ventures  in  New  York  City  real 
estate;  and  at  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  five 
richest  men  in  the  world.  His  greatest  service  to 
the  city  was  founding  the  Astor  Library. 

Vanderbilt  was  a  Staten  Island  boy,  whose 
parents  were  very  poor,  and  who  therefore  had  to 
work  for  his  living  at  an  early  age.  Before  the 
War  of  181 2,  when  a  lad  in  his  teens,  he  had  been 


Growth  of  the  City  219 

himself  sailing  a  sloop  as  a  ferry-boat,  between 
Staten  Island  and  New  York,  and  soon  had  saved 
enough  money  to  start  a  small  line  of  them.  After 
the  war  he  saw  the  possibilities  of  the  steamboat, 
and  began  to  run  one  as  captain,  owning  a  share 
in  it  as  well.  He  shortly  saved  enough  to  become 
his  own  capitalist,  and  removed  to  New  York  in 
1829.  He  organized  steam  lines  on  the  Hudson 
and  Sound,  making  money  hand  over  hand ;  and 
in  1849 — the  period  of  the  California  gold  fever — 
he  turned  his  attention  to  ocean  steamships,  and 
for  several  years  carried  on  a  famous  contest  with 
the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  for  the 
traffic  across  the  Isthmus  to  California.  He  was 
drawn  into  antagonism  with  the  filibuster  Walker, 
because  of  his  connection  with  the  Central  Ameri- 
can States,  and  became  one  of  the  forces  which 
compassed  that  gray-eyed  adventurer's  downfall. 
Then  he  took  to  building  and  managing  railways, 
and  speculating  in  them,  and  by  the  end  of  his 
days  had  amassed  a  colossal  fortune.  The  history 
of  the  Wall  Street  speculations  in  which  he  took 
part,  forms  much  the  least  attractive  portion  of 
the  record  of  his  life. 

.  Astor  and  Vanderbilt  were  foremost  and  typical 
representatives  of  the  commercial  New  York  of 
their  day,  exactly  as  Hamilton  and  Jay  were  of 
the  Revolutionary  and  post-Revolutionary  city. 
Neither  was    of    English    blood;    Astor   was   a 


220  New  York 

German,  and  Vanderbilt  a  descendant  of  the  old 
Dutch  settlers.  Both  were  of  obscure  parentage, 
and  both  hewed  their  way  up  from  the  ranks  by 
sheer  force  of  intellect  and  will-power.  Of  course 
neither  deserves  for  a  moment  to  be  classed  on  the 
city's  roll  of  honor  with  men  like  Hamilton  and 
Jay,  or  like  Cooper  and  Irving. 

Before  the  days  of  steamship,  railroad,  and  tele- 
graph, were  the  days  of  the  fast  '  'clippers,"  whose 
white  wings  sped  over  the  ocean  up  to  the  time  of 
the  Civil  War.  The  New  York  clippers,  like  those 
of  Baltimore,  were  famous  for  their  speed,  size,  and 
beauty.  Their  builders  exhausted  every  expedi- 
ent to  bring  them  to  perfection;  and  for  many 
years  after  steamers  were  built  they  maintained  a 
nearly  equal  fight  against  these  formidable  rivals. 
Crack  vessels  among  them  repeatedly  made  the 
voyage  to  England  in  a  fortnight.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  the  United  States,  which  only  rose  to 
power  at  the  very  end  of  the  period  of  sailing- 
vessels,  and  which  has  not  been  able  to  hold  her 
own  among  those  nations  whose  sons  go  down  to  the 
sea  in  ships,  should  nevertheless,  during  the  first 
half  of  the  present  century,  have  brought  the  art 
of  building,  handling — and  when  necessary,  fight- 
ing— these  same  old-time  sailing-ships,  in  all  their 
varieties  of  man-of-war,  privateer,  merchantman, 
and  whaler,  to  the  highest  point  ever  attained. 
The  frigates  and  privateers  were  perfected  during 


Growth  of  the  City  221 

the  War  of  181 2 ;  the  merchant  clippers  were  im- 
mensely improved  after  that  date.  The  older 
vessels  were  slow,  tubby  craft;  and  they  were 
speedily  superseded  by  the  lines  of  swift  packet- 
ships, —  such  as  the  Blackball,  Red  Star  and 
Swallow  Tail — established  one  after  the  other 
by  enterprising  and  venturesome  New  York  mer- 
chants. The  packet-ships  sailed  for  European 
ports.  Before  the  middle  of  the  century,  lines  of 
clippers  were  established  to  trade,  and  also  to 
carry  passengers  to  California  and  the  China  seas. 
In  size  they  sometimes  went  up  to  two  thousand 
tons;  and  compared  to  European  merchant  ves- 
sels, their  speed  and  safety  were  such  that  they 
commanded  from  shippers  half  as  much  again  in 
payment  for  the  freightage  on  cargoes  of  teas  and 
other  Eastern  goods. 

The  large  importers,  and  their  captains  as  well, 
made  money  rapidly  by  these  ships ;  yet  now,  from 
divers  causes,  the  carrying-trade  has  slipped 
through  their  fingers.  But  the  city's  growth  has 
not  been  checked  by  this  loss.  The  commerce- 
bringing  fleets  of  other  nations  throng  its  harbor, 
while  its  merchants  retain  their  former  energy,  and 
command  their  former  success  in  other  lines ;  and 
the  steady  and  rapid  growth  of  factories  of  many 
kinds  has  changed  the  city  into  a  great  manufac- 
turing center.  There  is  no  danger  of  any  loss  of 
commercial  prosperity,  nor  of  any  falling  off  in  the 


222  New  York 

amount  of  wealth  as  a  whole,  nor  of  any  diminu- 
tion in  the  ranks  of  the  men  who  range  from  well- 
to-do  to  very  rich.  The  danger  arises  from  the 
increase  of  grinding  poverty  among  vast  masses  of 
the  population  in  certain  quarters,  and  from  the 
real  or  seeming  increase  in  the  inequality  of  con- 
ditions between  the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor ; 
in  other  words,  as  colossal  fortunes  grow  up  on  the 
one  hand,  there  grows  up  on  the  other  a  large 
tenement-house  population,  partly  composed  of 
wage-earners  who  never  save  anything,  and  partly 
of  those  who  never  earn  quite  enough  to  give  their 
families  even  the  necessaries  of  life. 

This  ominous  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the 
class  of  the  hopelessly  poor  is  one  among  the  in- 
juries which  have  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  offset 
the  benefits  accruing  to  the  country  during  the 
present  century,  because  of  the  unrestricted 
European  immigration.  There  was  considerable 
immigration  from  abroad  even  before  the  War  of 
181 2  ;  but  it  did  not  become  of  great  moment  until 
after  the  close  of  the  contest.  The  volume  then 
swelled  very  rapidly.  In  1818  and  181 9  over 
twenty  thousand  immigrants  arrived  in  New  York, 
and  were  reported  at  the  mayor's  office.  Most 
of  them  were  very  poor  and  ignorant,  and  at  first 
ill  able  to  cope  with  their  new  surroundings.  They 
housed  in  sheds,  cellars,  and  rookeries  of  all  kinds, 
and  in  winter  time  were  reduced  to  desperate 


Growth  of  the  City  223 

straits  for  food,  thousands  being  supported  for 
short  periods  by  the  charity  of  private  citizens  and 
of  organized  relief  associations.  They  did  not  go 
out  to  the  frontier,  and  like  most  of  the  immigrants 
of  the  present  century  preferred  to  huddle  in  the 
large  cities  rather  than  to  go  into  the  country. 
Year  by  year  the  mass  of  immigration  increased, 
though  with  occasional  and  purely  temporary 
fluctuations.  By  1830  it  had  already  become  so 
great  as  to  dwarf  all  movements  of  the  kind  which 
the  world  had  hitherto  seen ;  and  after  the  potato 
famine  in  Ireland  and  the  revolutions  of  1848  in 
continental  Europe,  fugitives  from  hunger  or  po- 
litical oppression  came  over  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. A  greater  proportion  of  these  immigrants, 
relatively  to  the  population,  made  their  homes  in 
New  York  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  country. 
The  large  majority  of  them  were  of  course  from  the 
lower  or  lower-middle  classes. 

The  immigration  worked  a  complete  ethnic 
overturn  in  the  character  of  the  population, — an 
overturn  of  which  there  had  been  several  similar 
instances  already  in  the  city's  history.  The  im- 
migrants and  their  children  soon  grew  to  outnum- 
ber the  descendants  of  the  old  pre-Revolutionary 
inhabitants,  and  the  process  was  hastened  by  the 
fact  that  very  many  of  the  latter,  probably  far  more 
than  half,  themselves  drifted  westward,  with  the 
restless  love  of  change  so  characteristic  of  their 


224  New  York 

nation.  There  were  many  English,  Scotch,  and 
Welsh,  and  a  few  Scandinavians  among  the  immi- 
grants, and  these  speedily  amalgamated  with,  and 
became  indistinguishable  from,  the  natives.  But 
by  far  the  largest  number — probably  more  than 
five-sixths  of  those  settled  in  New  York  City  dur- 
ing the  half -century  before  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War — were  Irish  and  Germans,  the  former  being 
at  this  time  much  in  the  lead. 

The  Germans  had  formed  an  important  element 
of  the  city's  population  ever  since  the  days  of 
Leisler,  who  was  himself  a  German,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  Stuyvesant,  the  most  important 
figure  in  the  history  of  the  colonial  town.  They 
were  probably,  in  point  of  numbers  and  impor- 
tance, at  no  time  lower  than  the  fourth  in  rank 
among  the  nationalities  which  were  being  fused 
together  to  make  New  York  citizens.  By  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  the  descendants 
of  the  old  German  immigrants  had  become  com- 
pletely Americanized.  The  new  swarms  of  Ger- 
mans who  came  hither,  revived  the  use  of  the 
German  tongue ;  and  as  they  settled  in  large  bod- 
ies,— often  forming  the  entire  population  of  cer- 
tain districts, — they  clung  pertinaciously  to  their 
own  customs,  kept  to  their  own  churches,  and 
published  their  own  newspapers.  Nevertheless, 
the  public-school  system  and  the  all-pervading 
energy  of  American  life  proved  too  severe  solvents 


Growth  of  the  City  225 

to  be  resisted  even  by  the  German  tenacity.  Some 
remained  un-Americanized  in  a  sodden,  useless 
lump ;  but  after  a  generation  or  two  this  ceased  to 
be  the  case  with  the  majority.  The  children  of 
the  first  generation  were  half,  and  the  grandchil- 
dren in  most  cases  wholly,  Americanized, — to  their 
own  inestimable  advantage.  As  long  as  they 
remained  mere  foreigners,  speaking  an  alien 
tongue,  they  of  course  occupied  a  lower  grade  in 
the  body  politic  and  social  than  that  to  which  their 
good  qualities  entitled  them.  As  they  became 
Americanized  in  speech  and  customs,  they  moved 
up  to  the  same  level  with  the  native  born.  Per- 
haps two-thirds  were  nominally  Protestants,  and 
these  had  no  religious  prejudices  to  overcome  or 
be  hampered  by.  They  were  thrifty,  hardwork- 
ing, and  on  the  whole  law-abiding,  and  they  not 
only  rose  rapidly  in  the  social  scale,  but  as  soon  as 
they  learned  to  speak  our  language  by  preference, 
as  their  native  tongue,  they  became  indistinguish- 
able from  the  other  Americans  with  whom  they 
mixed.  They  furnished  leading  men  to  all  trades 
and  professions,  and  many  founded  families  of 
high  social  and  political  distinction.  They  ren- 
dered great  service  to  the  city  by  their  efforts  to 
cultivate  a  popular  taste  for  music  and  for  harm- 
less public  pleasures.  Only  the  fact  that  the 
Lutheran  clergy  clung  to  the  German  language, 
prevented  their  church  from  becoming  the  most 
15 


226  New  York 

important  of  the  Protestant  churches.  The  Catho- 
lic or  Celtic  Irish  formed,  in  point  of  numbers, 
the  most  important  class  among  the  new  immi- 
grants. Those  of  their  race  who  had  come  here 
in  colonial  days  were  for  the  most  part  only 
imported  bond-servants  and  criminals.  Unlike 
the  Germans,  they  had  never  formed  an  element 
of  appreciable  weight  in  the  community  until  after 
the  Revolution.  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the 
present  century  they  became  the  most  numerous 
of  the  immigrants  and  began  to  form  a  class  of 
New  Yorkers  whose  importance  steadily  increased. 
They  displayed  little  of  the  German  frugality  and 
aptitude  for  business,  and  hence  remained  to  a  far 
larger  extent  mere  laborers, — comparatively  few 
rising,  at  least  for  the  first  generation  or  two,  to 
non-political  positions  of  importance;  and  they 
furnished  much  more  than  their  share  to  the  city's 
turbulent  and  lawless  elements,  for  in  their  new 
surroundings  they  were  easily  misled  by  both 
native  and  foreign-born  demagogues  and  agitators. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  have  invariably  proved 
admirable  soldiers  when  the  city  has  sent  out  her 
quota  of  troops  in  time  of  war;  they  have  taken 
little  part  in  anarchical  and  socialistic  movements, 
and — though  this  is  a  quality  of  a  more  doubtful 
kind — they  have  mastered  the  intricacies  of  local 
politics  with  astonishing  ease.  The  improvement 
in  their  material  condition  became  very  marked 


Growth  of  the  City  227 

after  three  or  four  decades.  Moreover,  their  less 
fortunate  qualities  were  such  as  inevitably  at- 
tended the  peculiar  conditions  of  their  life  in  the 
old  country;  and  these  gradually  tended  to  dis- 
appear as  the  successive  generations  grew  up  on 
American  soil.  The  fact  that  they  already  spoke 
English  gave  them  an  immense  advantage,  com- 
pared to  the  Germans,  in  that  they  were  able  from 
the  outset  to  mingle  freely  in  American  life;  but 
the  difference  of  religion  tended  to  keep  at  least 
the  first  two  generations  apart  from  the  citizens 
of  old  American  stock.  The  Irish,  like  the  Ger- 
mans, came  over  in  such  numbers  that  they  were 
able  to  introduce  their  own  separate  social  life; 
but  in  both  cases  the  ambitious  and  energetic 
among  the  descendants  of  the  immigrants  soon 
grew  to  realize  that  they  must  become  thorough- 
going Americans  in  order  to  win  the  great  prizes 
of  American  life,  while  every  family  that  acquired 
wealth  and  culture  desired  nothing  so  much  as  to 
get  a  foothold  in  the  upper  circles  of  the  American 
portion  of  the  community. 

By  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the  flood  of 
immigration  had  swamped  the  older  "native 
American"  stock,  as  far  as  numbers  went.  The 
mixed  blood  of  New  York  had  been  mixed  still 
further.  It  is  curious  to  trace  the  successive 
additions  of  race  elements  to  the  population  of  the 
city.     At  its  founding  the  Dutch  were  dominant, 


228  New  York 

but  with  a  considerable  Walloon  element,  which 
was  soon  absorbed  by  the  Hollanders,  while  there 
was  a  larger  element  of  French  Huguenots,  who 
kept  coming  in,  and  were  absorbed  more  slowly. 
There  were  also  many  English,  and  a  few  Ger- 
mans. After  the  final  English  conquest  there 
was  a  fair  amount  of  immigration  from  England 
and  Scotland;  the  Huguenots  also  continued  to 
come  in  for  a  little  while,  and  there  was  a  large 
German  and  a  considerable  Scotch-Irish  immi- 
gration. At  the  end  of  the  Revolution  all  of  these 
peoples  had  grown  to  use  the  English  tongue,  and 
were  fast  being  welded  together;  but  the  great 
majority  of  the  citizens  were  non-English  by 
blood.  There  then  began  a  great  inrush  of  New 
Englanders ;  and  for  the  first  time  the  citizens  of 
English  blood  grew  to  outnumber  those  of  any 
other  strain, — all  however  being  soon  fused  to- 
gether, and  becoming  purely  American.  The 
immense  immigration  between  1820  and  i860 
changed  this.  By  the  latter  date  the  men  of  Irish 
birth  and  blood  had  become  more  numerous  than 
any  others;  the  Germans,  at  some  distance  off, 
next;  while  the  native  Americans,  who  still  led 
and  controlled  the  others,  were  a  close  third.  Of 
course,  however,  the  older  races  of  the  city  made 
the  mold  into  which  the  newer  were  poured.  The 
task  is  sometimes  slow  and  difficult,  but  in  the  end 
the  German  or  Irishman  is  always  Americanized ; 


Growth  of  the  City  229 

and  his  influence  upon  the  country  of  his  adoption, 
although  considerable,  is  as  nothing  compared  to 
the  influence  of  the  country  upon  him. 

The  wonderful  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church 
was  of  course  due  to  the  immigration,  especially 
of  the  Irish.  In  colonial  times  Roman  Catholi- 
cism had  not  been  tolerated.  When  complete  re- 
ligious freedom  was  established,  with  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  government,  the  Catholics  began 
to  come  in,  and  soon  after  the  Revolution  they 
built  a  church;  but  its  congregation  led  a  fitful 
life  for  the  first  thirty  years.  There  were  years  of 
prosperity,  when  a  convent,,  a  school,  etc.,  were 
established;  and  years  of  adversity,  when  they 
were  abandoned.  The  congregation  was,  of 
course,  composed  mainly  of  immigrants,  chiefly 
Irish,  even  thus  early;  but  there  were  enough 
Germans  and  French  to  make  it  necessary  to  hold 
services  also  in  those  languages.  But  on  the 
whole  the  Church  at  this  time  languished,  and 
religious  instruction  and  supervision  were  pro- 
vided for  but  a  small  portion  of  the  Catholic  im- 
migrants. Accordingly,  they  and  their  children 
became  to  a  very  large  extent  Protestant.  After 
the  close  of  the  War  of  181 2,  matters  were  radi- 
cally changed.  New  York  became  the  permanent 
seat  of  a  bishopric,  a  multitude  of  priests  came  in, 
churches  were  built,  and  the  whole  organization 
sprang  into   vigorous    life.     The  immense   Irish 


*3o  New  York 

immigration  gave  the  Church  the  stamp  it  yet 
retains,  and  settled  that  its  language  should  be 
English,  thus  turning  it  into  a  potent  force  for 
Americanizing  the  Catholic  immigrants  from  con- 
tinental Europe.  As  early  as  1826  the  New  York 
Catholics  murmured  against  having  a  French 
bishop  put  over  them ;  though  by  that  time  it  had 
been  found  necessary  to  establish  separate  German 
churches,  as  the  German  immigration  had  also 
begun.  So  enormous  had  been  the  inrush  during 
the  preceding  dozen  years,  that  at  this  date  the 
Catholics  already  formed  in  the  neighborhood  of  a 
fifth  of  the  city's  population.  The  Protestant 
sects  became  seriously  alarmed  at  this  portentous 
growth  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  for  the  thirty 
years  preceding  the  Civil  War  there  was  fierce 
religious  and  political  agitation  against  it,  the 
feeling  growing  so  bitter  that  there  were  furious 
riots,  accompanied  with  much  bloodshed,  between 
Catholic  and  Protestant  mobs  in  the  great  cities, 
including  New  York.  Nevertheless,  the  Church 
went  on  steadily  growing;  and  much,  though  by 
no  means  all,  of  the  bitterness  gradually  wore 
away.  Catholicism  gained  in  numbers  by  con- 
verts from  among  the  native  Americans,  often  of 
high  social  standing;  though  this  gain  was  prob- 
ably much  more  than  offset  by  the  loss  of  Catholic 
immigrants  who  drifted  into  Protestantism.  The 
Irish  have  formed  the  mainstay  of  the  Church  in 


Growth  of  the  City  231 

America;  and  this,  and  the  readiness  with  which 
on  the  whole  it  has  adapted  itself  to  American 
conditions,  has  determined  its  development.  The 
Catholic  Church  in  Ireland,  unlike  the  Catholic 
Church  in  most  portions  of  continental  Europe,  has 
been  the  Church  of  popular  feeling ;  and  American 
Catholicism  also  gradually  grew  to  identify  itself 
with  all  movements  in  the  interests  of  the  masses 
of  the  people,  while  it  was  likewise  affected  by  the 
American  theories  of  complete  religious  toleration, 
and  separation  of  Church  from  State.  In  other 
words,  it  tended  to  become  Americanized.  It  was 
at  first,  outside  of  Baltimore,  and  the  French, 
Spanish,  and  Indian  missions,  a  church  of  poor 
immigrants,  chiefly  laborers.  Many  of  the  de- 
scendants of  these  immigrants  acquired  wealth, 
or  rose  to  distinction  in  the  community,  and  the 
different  nationalities  began  to  fuse  together,  and 
to  assimilate  themselves  in  speech  and  customs  to 
the  old  American  stock.  In  consequence,  the 
Church  gradually  tended  to  grow  into  one  of  the 
regular  American  churches,  even  though  still  all- 
powerful  among  the  immigrants ;  and  it  began  to 
possess  its  proper  share  of  men  of  high  social  and 
intellectual  position. 

When,  in  the  twenties,  the  immigration  began 
to  attain  formidable  dimensions,  it  excited  much 
uneasiness  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  native 
citizens,  who  disliked  and  looked  down  on  the 


232  New  York 

foreigners.  Much  of  this  feeling  was  wholly  un- 
justifiable, while  much  of  it  was  warranted  by  the 
fact  that  the  new-comers  contributed  far  more 
than  their  share  to  the  vice,  crime,  misery,  and 
pauperism  of  the  community.  They  were  popu- 
larly held  responsible  for  various  epidemics  of 
disease, — notably  a  terrible  visitation  of  cholera 
in  1832. 

New  York  having  been  peopled  by  relays  of 
immigrants  of  different  nationality,  each  relay  in 
turn,  as  it  became  Americanized,  looked  down 
upon  the  next,  as  has  already  been  said.  So  it  is 
at  the  present  day.  The  grandchildren  of  the 
Germans  and  Irish,  to  whom  such  strenuous  ob- 
jection was  made  sixty  years  ago,  now  in  turn 
protest  against  the  shoals  of  latter-day  Sclavonic 
and  Italian  incomers.  Race  and  religious  antipa- 
thy have  caused  not  a  few  riots  during  the 
present  century,  in  New  York;  and  this  was  es- 
pecially the  case  during  the  period  covered  by  the 
forty  years  preceding  the  Civil  War. 

However,  riots  of  various  kinds  were  common  all 
through  this  period ;  for  the  city  mob  was  far  more 
disorderly  and  less  under  control  than  at  present. 
Nor  were  the  foreigners  by  any  means  the  only 
ones  to  be  found  in  its  ranks,  for  it  contained  a 
large  and  very  dangerous  element  of  native  Ameri- 
can roughs.  One  specially  frequent  form  of  riot 
was  connected  with  the  theaters.     The  mob  was 


Growth  of  the  City  233 

very  patriotic  and  boisterously  anti-British;  and 
on  the  other  hand  many  English  actors  who  came 
to  America  to  make  money  were  unwise  enough 
to  openly  express  their  contempt  for  the  people 
from  whom  they  were  to  make  it.  Rival  theatrical 
managers  would  carefully  circulate  any  such  re- 
marks, and  the  mob  would  then  swarm  down  to 
the  theater,  fill  it  in  a  dense  mass,  and  pelt  the 
unfortunate  offender  off  the  boards  as  soon  as  he 
appeared.  The  misused  actor  was  not  always 
a  foreigner ;  for  a  like  treatment  was  occasionally 
awarded  to  any  American  against  whom  the  popu- 
lace bore  a  grudge.  Certain  of  the  newspapers — 
not  a  few  of  which  were  edited  by  genuine  Jeffer- 
son Bricks — were  always  ready  to  take  a  hand  in 
hounding  down  any  actor  whom  they  had  cause 
to  dislike.  Some  of  these  outbreaks  were  very 
serious;  and  they  culminated  in  1849  in  the 
"Astor  Place,"  or  "Opera-house"  riot.  On  this 
occasion  the  mob  tried  to  gut  the  theater  where  an 
obnoxious  English  actor  was  playing,  but  were 
held  in  check  by  the  police.  They  then  gathered 
by  thousands  in  the  streets,  and  were  finally  fired 
into  by  the  troops,  and  dispersed  with  a  loss  of 
twenty  killed, — a  most  salutary  and  excellent 
lesson. 

Other  riots  were  due  to  more  tangible  troubles. 
The  enormous  immigration  had  created  a  huge 
class  of  unfortunates  who  could  with  difficulty 


234  New  York 

earn  their  daily  bread,  and  any  period  of  sudden 
and  severe  distress  threw  them  into  a  starving 
condition.  There  were  one  or  two  great  fires 
which  were  really  appalling  calamities  to  the  city ; 
and  the  terrible  panic  of  1836-37  produced  the 
most  widespread  want  and  suffering.  Flour  went 
up  to  fifteen  dollars  a  barrel.  The  poor  were  cast 
into  abject  misery,  and  were  inflamed  by  dema- 
gogues, who  raised  the  cry  of  '  'the  poor  against 
the  rich,"  and  denounced  in  especial  the  flour  and 
grain  dealers.  The  " Bread  Riots"  of  January, 
1837,  were  the  result.  A  large  mob  assembled  in 
response  to  placards  headed ' '  Bread !  Meat !  Rent ! 
Fuel !  their  prices  must  come  down ! "  and  assailed 
and  sacked  some  of  the  stores  and  warehouses, 
strewing  the  streets  with  flour  and  wheat.  It  was 
toward  nightfall  before  the  police  could  restore 
order.  There  were  also  savage  labor  riots,  gener- 
ally caused  when  the  trades-unions  ordered  a 
strike,  and  strove  to  prevent  other  workmen  from 
taking  the  places  of  the  strikers.  In  all  of  these 
cases  the  masses  of  the  rioters  were  foreign 
born. 

There  were  also  riots  against  the  Abolitionists ; 
their  meetings  were  broken  up  and  their  leaders 
sometimes  maltreated.  Moreover  there  were 
bloody  encounters  between  native  American  and 
foreign — usually  Irish — mobs.  Finally  there  were 
frequent  riots  about  election  time,  at  the  great 


Growth  of  the  City  235 

open-air  meetings  and  processions,  between  the 
adherents  of  the  rival  parties. 

Politically,  the  steady  movement  toward  mak- 
ing the  government  absolutely  democratic  was 
checked  by  curious  side-fights.  The  Whig  party 
was  the  regular,  and  at  times  the  successful,  op- 
ponent of  the  Democracy  throughout  the  middle 
part  of  this  period.  The  Democratic  party  con- 
tained, as  always,  the  bulk  of  the  foreign  and 
Catholic  voters ;  its  strength  lay  in  the  poor  wards. 
Hence  it  was  always  in  danger  when  any  new 
popular  faction  arose.  In  1 830  a  short-lived  labor 
party  was  started,  but  this  came  to  nothing.  In 
1834  the  first  elective  mayor  was  chosen  by  uni- 
versal suffrage.  The  contest  was  very  close ;  and 
the  Democrat,  Lawrence,  was  chosen  over  the 
Whig,  Verplanck,  by  only  a  couple  of  hundred 
votes,  out  of  thirty-five  thousand.  Among  the 
heads  of  the  Democratic  party  were  still  to  be 
found  some  influential  merchants  and  the  like; 
as  yet  the  mere  demagogue  politicians  did  not  dare 
to  make  themselves  the  titular  leaders.  Law- 
rence was  a  wealthy  gentleman.  On  New  Year's 
day  he  threw  open  his  doors  to  all  callers,  as  was 
then  the  general  custom.  But  the  mass  of  ward- 
leaders  and  political ' 'heelers"  of  every  kind  who 
thronged  his  house,  turned  it  into  a  bear  garden, 
destroying  everything  until  he  had  to  summon  the 
police  to  rid  him  of  his  guests.     The  Democracy 


236  New  York 

was  not  yet  quite  used  to  power,  and  did  not  know 
how  to  behave. 

A  year  or  two  later  one  of  the  labor  parties  led  a 
brief  career  in  the  city,  arising — as  has  usually 
been  the  case — from  a  split  in  the  Democratic 
party.  Its  adherents  styled  themselves  "equal- 
rights  men"  or  *'anti -monopolists."  By  outsid- 
ers they  were  usually  dubbed  "Loco-focos,"  be- 
cause at  the  outset  of  their  career,  in  the  course  of 
a  stormy  meeting  of  the  city  Democracy  in  a  hall, 
their  opponents  put  out  the  gas ;  whereupon  they, 
having  thoughtfully  provided  themselves  with 
loco-foco  matches,  relit  the  gas,  and  brought  the 
meeting  to  a  triumphant  close.  The  chief  points 
in  their  political  creed  were  hostility  to  banks  and 
corporations  generally,  and  a  desire  to  have  all 
judges  elected  for  short  terms,  so  as  to  have  them 
amenable  to  the  people, — that  is,  to  have  them 
administer  the  law,  not  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  justice,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
popular  whim  of  the  moment.  They  split  up  the 
Democratic  party,  and  thus  were  of  service  to  the 
Whigs  during  the  two  or  three  years  of  their  exist- 
ence. 

The  Native  American  party  began  to  make  a 
stir  about  the  time  the  Loco-focos  came  to  an  end. 
The  Native  Americans  represented  simply  hostil- 
ity to  foreigners  in  general,  and  Catholic  foreigners 
in  particular.     They  therefore  had  no  permanent 


Growth  of  the  City  237 

root,  as  they  merely  represented  a  prejudice, — 
for  depriving  foreigners  already  here  of  political 
rights  is  a  piece  of  iniquitous  folly,  having  no  con- 
nection with  the  undoubted  and  evident  wisdom 
of  limiting  immigration  to  our  shores,  and  exer- 
cising a  rigid  supervision  thereover.  The  Native 
Americans  led  an  intermittent  party  life  for  a  score 
of  years,  ending  as  the  Know-nothings,  who  were 
swept  out  of  sight  by  the  rise  of  the  Republican 
party.  In  1841  the  Catholics  very  foolishly  and 
wrongfully  tried  to  form  a  separate  party  of  their 
own,  on  account  of  irritation  over  the  disposal  of 
the  public-school  fund.  They  insisted  that  a  por- 
tion of  it  should  be  given  to  them  for  their  secta- 
rian schools,  and  organized  a  party  to  support  only 
such  candidates  as  would  back  their  demands. 
But  by  this  time  the  people  had  become  wedded 
to  the  public-school  system,  and  the  effort  proved 
wholly  fruitless.  The  only  result  was  to  give  a 
great  start  to  the  Native  American  party,  which 
as  a  consequence,  in  1844,  actually  carried  the 
mayoralty  election. 

In  spite  of  occasional  interludes  of  this  kind, 
however,  the  Democratic  party,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Tammany  Hall,  in  the  long  run  always 
recovered  their  hold  on  the  reins.  As  the  years 
went  by,  the  party  escaped  more  and  more  from 
the  control  of  the  well-to-do  merchants  and  busi- 
ness men,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  professional 


238  New  York 

politicians  of  unsavory  character.  The  judiciary 
was  made  elective  in  1846 ;  and  most  local  officers 
were  thenceforth  chosen  in  this  manner.  The 
mass  of  poor  and  ignorant  voters,  mainly  foreign 
born,  but  drilled  and  led  by  unscrupulous  Ameri- 
cans, held  the  command,  and  contemptuously 
disregarded  their  former  leaders.  Business  men 
shrank  from  going  into  politics.  There  was  not 
much  buying  of  voters,  but  election  frauds,  and 
acts  of  brutal  intimidation  and  violence  at  the 
polls,  became  more  and  more  common.  The  Fed- 
eral, State,  and  local  offices  were  used  with  abso- 
lute shamelessness  to  reward  active  political  work. 
By  the  fifties,  politics  had  sunk  as  low  as  they  well 
could  sink.  Fernando  Wood,  an  unscrupulous 
and  cunning  demagogue,  whose  financial  honesty 
was  more  than  doubtful,  skilled  in  manipulating 
the  baser  sort  of  ward  politicians,  became  the 
1  'boss"  of  the  city,  and  was  finally  elected  mayor. 
His  lieutenants  were  brutal  rowdies  of  the  type  of 
Isaiah  Rynders,  his  right  hand  man;  they  ruled 
by  force  and  fraud,  and  were  hand  in  glove  with 
the  disorderly  and  semi-criminal  classes.  Both 
Wood  and  Rynders  were  native  Americans,  the 
former  of  English,  the  latter  of  Dutch  ancestry. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  pick  out  any  two  foreign- 
born  men  of  similar  stamp  who  were  as  mischiev- 
ous. In  1 850  street  railways  were  started,  and  the 
franchises  for  them  were  in  many  cases  procured 


Growth  of  the  City  239 

by  the  bribery  of  the  Common  Council.  This 
proved  the  final  touch;  and  it  is  from  this  year 
that  the  hopeless  corruption  of  the  local  municipal 
legislature  dates.  In  1857  the  State  Legislature 
at  Albany  began  a  long  and  active  course  of  dab- 
bling in  our  municipal  matters — sometimes  wisely 
and  sometimes  foolishly — by  passing  a  charter 
which  divided  responsibility  and  power  among  the 
different  local  officers,  and  needlessly  multiplied 
the  latter  by  keeping  up  the  fiction  of  separate 
governments  for  the  county  and  city,  which  had 
really  become  identical.  They  also  created  local 
boards  and  commissions  which  were  appointed  by 
the  State,  not  the  city,  authorities.  This  last  act 
aroused  intense  hostility  among  the  city  poli- 
ticians; especially  was  this  the  case  in  regard  to 
the  new  Police  Board.  The  city  authorities 
wished  at  all  costs  to  retain  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing and  ruling  the  police  in  their  own  hands ;  and 
they  resisted  by  force  of  arms  the  introduction  of 
the  new  system.  Fernando  Wood's  old  '  'munici- 
pal" police  and  the  new  State,  or  so-called  *  'met- 
ropolitan" police  fought  for  a  couple  of  days  in  the 
streets,  with  considerable  bloodshed.  But  the 
courts  declared  in  favor  of  the  constitutionality 
of  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  and  the  municipal 
authorities  were  forced  to  abandon  their  opposi- 
tion. 

Throughout  this  period  New  York's  public  and 


240  New  York 

private  buildings  were  increasing  in  size  and  costli- 
ness as  rapidly  as  in  numbers.  It  is  difficult  to  say- 
as  much  for  their  beauty,  as  a  whole.  Neverthe- 
less, some  of  them  are  decidedly  handsome, — 
notably  some  of  the  churches,  such  as  Trinity,  and 
above  all  St.  Patrick's,  the  cornerstone  of  which 
was  laid  in  1858.  A  really  great  piece  of  archi- 
tectural engineering  was  the  Croton  aqueduct 
which  was  opened  for  use  in  1 842. 

The  city  had  also  done  something  for  that  higher 
national  development,  the  lack  of  which  makes 
material  prosperity  simply  a  source  of  national 
vulgarization.  She  did  her  share  in  helping  for- 
ward the  struggling  schools  of  American  painters 
and  sculptors ;  and  she  did  more  than  her  share  in 
founding  American  literature.  Sydney  Smith's 
famous  query,  propounded  in  1820,  was  quite  jus- 
tified by  the  facts.  Nobody  of  the  present  day 
does  read  any  American  book  which  was  then 
written,  with  two  exceptions ;  and  the  wit* y  Dean 
could  scarcely  be  expected  to  have  any  knowledge 
of  Irving' s  first  purely  local  work,  while  probably 
hardly  a  soul  in  England  had  so  much  as  heard  of 
that  really  wonderful  volume,  "The  Federalist." 
Both  of  these  were  New  York  books;  and  New 
York  may  fairly  claim  to  have  been  the  birthplace 
of  American  literature.  Immediately  after  1820 
Washington  Irving  and  Fenimore  Cooper  won 
world-wide  fame;  while  Bryant  was  chief  of  a 


Growth  of  the  City  241 

group  of  poets  which  included  men  like  Rodman 
Drake.  For  the  first  time  we  had  a  literature 
worthy  of  being  so  called,  which  was  not  saturated 
with  the  spirit  of  servile  colonialism,  the  spirit  of 
humble  imitation  of  things  European.  Our  politi- 
cal life  became  full  and  healthy  only  after  we  had 
achieved  political  independence ;  and  it  is  quite  as 
true  that  we  never  have  done,  and  never  shall  do, 
anything  really  worth  doing,  whether  in  literature 
or  art,  except  when  working  distinctively  as  Amer- 
icans. 

We  are  not  yet  free  from  the  spirit  of  colonialism 
in  art  and  letters ;  but  the  case  was,  and  is,  much 
worse  with  our  purely  social  life, — or  at  least  with 
that  portion  of  it  which  ought  to  be,  and  asserts 
itself  to  be,  but  emphatically  is  not,  our  best  social 
life.  In  the  "Potiphar  Papers,"  Mr.  Curtis,  a 
New  Yorker  of  whom  all  New  Yorkers  can  be 
proud,  has  left  a  description  which  can  hardly  be 
called  a  caricature  of  fashionable  New  York  society 
as  it  was  in  the  decade  before  the  war.  It  is  not 
an  attractive  picture.  The  city  then  contained 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million  inhabitants,  and 
the  conditions  of  life  were  much  as  they  are  to-day. 
The  era  of  railroads  and  steamships  was  well  under 
way;  all  the  political  and  social  problems  and 
evils  which  now  exist,  existed  then,  often  in 
aggravated  form.  The  mere  commercial  classes 
were  absorbed  in  making  money, — a  pursuit 
16 


242  New  York 

which  of  course  becomes  essentially  ignoble  when 
followed  as  an  end  and  not  as  a  means.  It  had 
become  very  easy  to  travel  in  Europe,  and  im- 
mense shoals  of  American  tourists  went  thither 
every  season,  deriving  but  doubtful  benefit  from 
their  tour.  New  York  possessed  a  large  wealthy 
class  which  did  not  quite  know  how  to  get  most 
pleasure  from  its  money,  and  which  had  not  been 
trained,  as  all  good  citizens  of  the  republic  should 
be  trained,  to  realize  that  in  America  every  man 
of  means  and  leisure  must  do  some  kind  of  work, 
whether  in  politics,  in  literature,  in  science,  or  in 
what,  for  lack  of  a  better  word,  may  be  called 
philanthropy,  if  he  wishes  really  to  enjoy  life,  and 
to  avoid  being  despised  as  a  drone  in  the  com- 
munity. Moreover,  they  failed  to  grasp  the  infinite 
possibilities  of  enjoyment,  of  interest,  and  of  use- 
fulness, which  American  life  offers  to  every  man, 
rich  or  poor,  if  he  have  only  heart  and  head.  With 
singular  poverty  of  imagination  they  proceeded 
on  the  assumption  that  to  enjoy  their  wealth  they 
must  slavishly  imitate  the  superficial  features, 
and  the  defects  rather  than  the  merits,  of  the  life 
of  the  wealthy  classes  of  Europe,  instead  of  bor- 
rowing only  its  best  traits,  and  adapting  even 
these  to  their  own  surroundings.  They  put 
wealth  above  everything  else,  and  therefore  hope- 
lessly vulgarized  their  lives.  The  shoddy  splen- 
dors  of   the    second    French    Empire    naturally 


Growth  of  the  City  243 

appealed  to  them,  and  so  far  as  might  be  they 
imitated  its  ways.  Dress,  manners,  amusements, 
— all  were  copied  from  Paris ;  and  when  they  went 
to  Europe,  it  was  in  Paris  that  they  spent  most  of 
their  time.  To  persons  of  intelligence  and  force 
their  lives  seemed  equally  dull  at  home  and 
abroad.  They  took  little  interest  in  literature 
or  politics ;  they  did  not  care  to  explore  and  hunt 
and  travel  in  their  own  country;  they  did  not 
have  the  taste  for  athletic  sport  which  is  so  often 
the  one  redeeming  feature  of  the  gilded  youth  of 
to-day,  and  which,  if  not  very  much  when  taken 
purely  by  itself,  is  at  least  something.  Fashion- 
able society  was  composed  of  two  classes.  There 
were,  first,  the  people  of  good  family, — those 
whose  forefathers  at  some  time  had  played  their 
parts  manfully  in  the  world,  and  who  claimed 
some  shadowy  superiority  on  the  strength  of  this 
memory  of  the  past,  unbacked  by  any  proof  of 
merit  in  the  present.  Secondly,  there  were  those 
who  had  just  made  money, — the  father  having 
usually  merely  the  money-getting  faculty,  the 
presence  of  which  does  not  necessarily  imply  the 
existence  of  any  other  worthy  quality  whatever, 
the  rest  of  the  family  possessing  only  the  absorbing 
desire  to  spend  what  the  father  had  earned.  In 
the  summer  they  all  went  to  Saratoga  or  to 
Europe ;  in  winter  they  came  back  to  New  York. 
Fifth  Avenue  was  becoming  the  fashionable  street, 


244  New  York 

and  on  it  they  built  their  brownstone-front  houses, 
all  alike  outside,  and  all  furnished  in  the  same 
style  within, — heavy  furniture,  gilding,  mirrors, 
glittering  chandeliers.  If  a  man  was  very  rich  he 
had  a  few  feet  more  frontage,  and  more  gilding, 
more  mirrors,  and  more  chandeliers.  There  was 
one  incessant  round  of  gaiety,  but  it  possessed  no 
variety  whatever,  and  little  interest. 

Of  course  there  were  plenty  of  exceptions  to  all 
these  rules.  There  were  many  charming  houses, 
there  was  much  pleasant  social  life,  just  as  there 
were  plenty  of  honest  politicians ;  and  there  were 
multitudes  of*  men  and  women  well  fitted  to  per- 
form the  grave  duties  and  enjoy  the  great  rewards 
of  American  life.  But  taken  as  a  whole,  the  fash- 
ionable and  political  life  of  New  York  in  the  decade 
before  the  Civil  War  offers  an  instructive  rather 
than  an  attractive  spectacle. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RECENT  HISTORY.       1860-189O. 

IN  i860  New  York  had  over  eight  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants.  During  the  thirty 
years  that  have  since  passed,  its  population 
has  nearly  doubled.  If  the  city  limits  were  en- 
larged, like  those  of  London  and  Chicago,  so  as  to 
take  in  the  suburbs,  the  population  would  amount 
to  some  three  millions.  Recently  there  has  been 
a  great  territorial  expansion  northward,  beyond 
the  Haarlem,  by  the  admission  of  what  is  known 
as  the  Annexed  District.  The  growth  of  wealth 
has  fully  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  population. 
The  city  is  one  of  the  two  or  three  greatest  com- 
mercial and  manufacturing  centers  of  the  world. 

The  ten  years  between  i860  and  1870  form  the 
worst  decade  in  the  city's  political  annals,  al- 
though the  somber  picture  is  relieved  by  touches 
of  splendid  heroism,  martial  prowess,  and  civic 
devotion.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the 
city  was — as  it  has  since  continued  to  be — the 
stronghold  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  North; 
and  unfortunately,  during  the  Rebellion,  while  the 
Democratic  party  contained  many  of  the  loyal, 
it  also  contained  all  of  the  disloyal,  elements.  A 
Democratic  victory  at  the  polls,  hardly,  if  at  all, 

245 


246  New  York 

less  than  a  Confederate  victory  in  the  field,  meant 
a  Union  defeat.  A  very  large  and  possibly  a 
controlling  element  in  the  city  Democracy  was  at 
heart  strongly  disunion  in  sentiment,  and  showed 
the  feeling  whenever  it  dared. 

At  the  outset  of  the  Civil  War  there  was  even  an 
effort  made  to  force  the  city  into  active  rebellion. 
The  small  local  Democratic  leaders,  of  the  type  of 
Isaiah  Rynders,  the  brutal  and  turbulent  ruffians 
who  led  the  mob  and  controlled  the  politics  of  the 
lower  wards,  openly  and  defiantly  threatened  to 
make  common  cause  with  the  South,  and  to  forbid 
the  passage  of  Union  troops  through  the  city. 
The  mayor,  Fernando  Wood,  in  January,  1861, 
proclaimed  disunion  to  be  "a  fixed  fact"  in  a 
message  to  the  Common  Council,  and  proposed 
that  New  York  should  herself  secede  and  become 
a  free  city,  with  but  a  nominal  duty  upon  imports. 
The  independent  commonwealth  was  to  be  named 
1  'Tri-Insula,"  as  being  composed  of  three  islands, — 
Long,  Staten,  and  Manhattan.  The  Common 
Council,  a  corrupt  body  as  disloyal  as  Wood  him- 
self, received  the  message  enthusiastically,  and 
had  it  printed  and  circulated  wholesale. 

But  when  Sumter  was  fired  on  the  whole  current 
changed  like  magic.  There  were  many  more  good 
men  than  bad  in  New  York;  but  they  had  been 
supine,  or  selfish,  or  indifferent,  or  undecided,  and 
so  the  bad  had  had  it  all  their  own  way.     The 


Recent  History  247 

thunder  of  Sumter's  guns  waked  the  heart  of  the 
people  to  passionate  loyalty.  The  bulk  of  the 
Democrats  joined  with  the  Republicans  to  show 
by  word  and  act  their  fervent  and  patriotic  de- 
votion to  the  Union.  Huge  mass-meetings  were 
held,  and  regiment  after  regiment  was  organized 
and  sent  to  the  front.  Shifty  Fernando  Wood, 
true  to  his  nature,  went  with  the  stream,  and  was 
loudest  in  proclaiming  his  horror  of  rebellion.  The 
city,  through  all  her  best  and  bravest  men,  pledged 
her  faithful  and  steadfast  support  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington.  The  Seventh  Regiment  of 
the  New  York  National  Guards,  by  all  odds  the 
best  regiment  in  the  United  States  Militia,  was  the 
first  in  the  whole  country  to  go  to  the  front  and 
reach  Washington,  securing  it  against  any  tudden 
surprise. 

The  Union  men  of  New  York  kept  their  pledge 
of  loyalty  in  spirit  and  letter.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  intensity  of  the  loyal  excitement,  they  even 
elected  a  Republican  mayor.  The  New  Yorkers 
of  means  were  those  whose  part  was  greatest  in 
sustaining  the  nation's  credit,  while  almost  every 
high-spirited  young  man  in  the  city  went  into  the 
army.  The  city,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  war,  sent  her  sons  to  the  front  by  scores  of 
thousands.  Her  troops  alone  would  have  formed 
a  large  army ;  and  on  a  hundred  battlefields,  and 
throughout  the  harder  trials  of  the  long,  dreary 


248  New  York 

campaigns,  they  bore  themselves  with  high  cour- 
age and  stern,  unyielding  resolution.  Those  who 
by  a  hard  lot  were  forced  to  stay  at  home  busied 
themselves  in  caring  for  the  men  at  the  front,  or 
for  their  widows  and  orphans;  and  the  Sanitary 
Commission,  the  Allotment  Commission,  and  other 
kindred  organizations  which  did  incalculable  good, 
originated  in  New  York. 

Yet  the  very  energy  with  which  New  York  sent 
her  citizen  soldiery  to  the  front,  left  her  exposed 
to  a  terrible  danger.  Much  of  the  low  foreign 
element,  as  well  as  the  worst  among  the  native- 
born  roughs,  had  been  hostile  to  the  war  all  along, 
and  a  ferocious  outbreak  was  produced  by  the 
enforcement  of  the  draft  in  July,  1863.  The  mob, 
mainly  foreign,  especially  Irish,  but  reinforced  by 
all  the  native  rascality  of  the  city,  broke  out  for 
three  days  in  what  are  known  as  the  draft  riots. 
They  committed  the  most  horrible  outrages,  their 
hostility  being  directed  especially  against  the  unfor- 
tunate negroes,  many  of  whom  they  hung  or  beat 
to  death  with  lingering  cruelty ;  and  they  attacked 
various  charitable  institutions  where  negroes  were 
cared  for.  They  also  showed  their  hatred  to  the 
national  government  and  its  defenders  in  every 
way,  and  even  set  out  to  burn  down  a  hospital 
filled  with  wounded  Union  soldiers,  besides  mob- 
bing all  government  officials.  From  attacking 
government    property    they    speedily    went   to 


Recent  History  249 

assailing  private  property  as  well,  burning  and 
plundering  the  houses  of  rich  and  poor  alike,  and 
threatened  to  destroy  the  whole  city  in  their 
anarchic  fury, — the  criminal  classes,  as  always  in 
such  a  movement,  taking  the  control  into  their 
own  hands.  Many  of  the  baser  Democratic  poli- 
ticians, in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the  mob, 
sought  to  prevent  effective  measures  being  taken 
against  it;  and  even  the  Democratic  governor, 
Seymour,  an  estimable  man  of  high  private  char- 
acter, but  utterly  unfit  to  grapple  with  the  times 
that  tried  men's  souls,  took  refuge  in  temporizing, 
half  measures,  and  /concessions.  The  Roman 
Catholic  archbishop  and  priests  opposed  and  de- 
nounced the  rioters  with  greater  or  less  boldness, 
according  to  their  individual  temperaments. 

But  the  governing  authorities,  both  national 
and  municipal,  acted  with  courage  and  energy. 
The  American  people  are  good-natured  to  the 
point  of  lax  indifference;  but  once  roused,  they 
act  with  the  most  straightforward  and  practical 
resolution.  Much  fear  had  been  expressed  lest 
the  large  contingent  of  Irish  among  the  police  and 
State  troops  would  be  lukewarm  or  doubtful,  but 
throughout  the  crisis  they  showed  to  the  full  as 
much  courage  and  steadfast  loyalty  as  their  asso- 
ciates of  native  origin.  One  of  the  most  deeply 
mourned  victims  of  the  mob  was  the  gallant 
Colonel    O'Brien    of    the    Eleventh    New  York 


250  New  York 

Volunteers,  who  had  dispersed  a  crowd  of  rioters 
with  considerable  slaughter,  and  was  afterward 
caught  by  them  when  alone,  and  butchered  under 
circumstances  of  foul  and  revolting  brutality. 

Most  of  the  real  working-men  refused  to  join 
with  the  rioters,  except  when  overawed  and  forced 
into  their  ranks ;  and  many  of  them  formed  them- 
selves into  armed  bodies,  and  assisted  to  restore 
order.  The  city  was  bare  of  troops,  for  they  had 
all  been  sent  to  the  front  to  face  Lee  at  Gettysburg ; 
and  the  police  at  first  could  not  quell  the  mob. 
As  regiment  after  regiment  was  hurried  back  to 
their  assistance  desperate  street-fighting  took 
place.  The  troops  and  police  were  thoroughly 
aroused,  and  attacked  the  rioters  with  the  most 
wholesome  desire  to  do  them  harm.  In  a  very 
short  time  after  the  forces  of  order  put  forth  their 
strength  the  outbreak  was  stamped  out,  and  a 
lesson  inflicted  on  the  lawless  and  disorderly  which 
they  never  entirely  forgot.  Two  millions  of  prop- 
erty had  been  destroyed,  and  many  valuable  lives 
lost.  But  over  twelve  hundred  rioters  were  slain, 
— an  admirable  object  lesson  to  the  remainder. 

It  was  several  years  before  the  next  riot  oc- 
curred. This  was  of  a  race  or  religious  character. 
The  different  nationalities  in  New  York  are  in  the 
habit  of  parading  on  certain  days, — a  particularly 
senseless  and  objectionable  custom.  The  Orange- 
men on  this  occasion  paraded  on  the  anniversary 


Recent  History  251 

of  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,  with  the  usual  array 
of  flags  and  banners,  covered  with  mottoes  espe- 
cially insulting  to  the  Celtic  Irish ;  the  latter  threat- 
ened to  stop  the  procession,  and  made  the  at- 
tempt; but  the  militia  had  been  called  out,  and 
after  a  moment's  sharp  fighting,  in  which  three  of 
their  number  and  seventy  or  eighty  rioters  were 
slain,  the  mob  was  scattered  to  the  four  winds. 
For  the  last  twenty  years  no  serious  riots  have 
occurred,  and  no  mob  has  assembled  which  the 
police  could  not  handle  without  the  assistance  of 
the  State  troops.  The  outbreaks  that  have  taken 
place  have  almost  invariably  been  caused  by 
strikes  or  other  labor  troubles.  Yet  the  general 
order  and  peacefulness  should  not  blind  us  to  the 
fact  that  there  exists  ever  in  our  midst  a  slumber- 
ing ■  Volcano  under  the  city,"  as  under  all  other 
large  cities  of  the  civilized  world.  This  danger 
must  continue  to  exist  as  long  as  our  rich  men  look 
at  life  from  a  standpoint  of  silly  frivolity,  or  else 
pursue  a  commercial  career  in  a  spirit  of  ferocious 
greed  and  disregard  of  justice,  while  the  poor  feel 
with  sullen  anger  the  pressure  of  many  evils, — 
some  of  their  own  making,  and  some  not, — and 
are  far  more  sensible  of  the  wrongs  they  suffer  than 
of  the  folly  of  trying  to  right  them  under  the  lead 
of  ignorant  visionaries  or  criminal  demagogues. 

For  several  years  after  the  war  there  was  a 
perfect  witches'  Sabbath  of  political  corruption 


«5*  New  York 

in  New  York  City,  which  culminated  during  the 
mayoralty  of  Oakey  Hall,  who  was  elected  in  1869. 
The  Democratic  party  had  absolute  control  of  the 
municipal  government;  and  this  meant  that  the 
city  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  ring  of  utterly  un- 
scrupulous and  brutal  politicians  who  then  con- 
trolled that  party,  and  who  in  time  of  need  had 
friends  among  some  of  their  so-called  Republican 
opponents  on  whom  they  could  always  rely.  Re- 
peating, ballot-box  stuffing,  fraudulent  voting  and 
counting  of  votes,  and  every  kind  of  violence  and 
intimidation  at  the  polls  turned  the  elections  into 
criminal  farces.  The  majorities  by  which  the 
city  was  carried  for  the  Democratic  presidential 
candidate  Seymour  in  1868,  represented  the  worst 
electoral  frauds  which  the  country  ever  witnessed, 
— far  surpassing  even  those  by  which  Polk  had 
been  elected  over  Clay. 

This  was  also  the  era  of  gigantic  stock-swindling. 
The  enormously  rich  stock-speculators  of  Wall 
Street  in  their  wars  with  one  another  and  against 
the  general  public,  found  ready  tools  and  allies  to 
be  hired  for  money  in  the  State  and  city  politi- 
cians, and  in  judges  who  were  acceptable  alike  to 
speculators,  politicians,  and  mob.  There  were 
continual  contests  for  the  control  of  railway  sys- 
tems, and  "operations"  in  stocks  which  barely 
missed  being  criminal,  and  which  branded  those 
who  took  part  in  them  as  infamous  in  the  sight  of 


Recent  History  253 

all  honest  men;  and  the  courts  and  legislative 
bodies  became  parties  to  the  iniquity  of  men  com- 
posing that  most  dangerous  of  all  classes,  the 
wealthy  criminal  class. 

Matters  reached  their  climax  in  the  feats  of  the 
1  'Tweed  Ring."  William  M.  Tweed  was  the  mas- 
ter spirit  among  the  politicians  of  his  own  party, 
and  also  secured  a  hold  on  a  number  of  the  local 
Republican  leaders  of  the  baser  sort.  He  was  a 
coarse,  jovial,  able  man,  utterly  without  scruple 
of  any  kind ;  and  he  organized  all  of  his  political 
allies  and  adherents  into  a  gigantic  "ring"  to 
plunder  the  city.  Incredible  sums  of  money  were 
stolen,  especially  in  the  construction  of  the  new 
Court  House.  When  the  frauds  were  discovered, 
Tweed,  secure  in  his  power,  asked  in  words  that 
have  become  proverbial,  '  'What  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it  ? "  But  the  end  came  in  1 8  7 1 .  Then 
the  decent  citizens,  irrespective  of  party,  banded 
together,  urged  on  by  the  newspapers,  especially 
the  Times  and  Harper's  Weekly, — for  the  city 
press  deserves  the  chief  credit  for  the  defeat  of 
Tweed.  At  the  fall  elections  the  ring  candidates 
were  overwhelmingly  defeated;  and  the  chief 
malefactors  were  afterward  prosecuted,  and  many 
of  them  imprisoned,  Tweed  himself  dying  in  a 
felon's  cell.  The  offending  judges  were  im- 
peached, or  resigned  in  time  to  escape  impeach- 
ment. 


254  New  York 

For  the  last  twenty  years  our  politics  have  been 
better  and  purer,  though  with  plenty  of  corruption 
and  jobbery  left  still.  There  are  shoals  of  base, 
ignorant,  vicious  "heelers"  and  "ward  workers," 
who  form  a  solid,  well-disciplined  army  of  evil, 
led  on  by  abler  men  whose  very  ability  renders 
them  dangerous.  Some  of  these  leaders  are  per- 
sonally corrupt ;  others  are  not,  but  do  almost  as 
much  harm  as  if  they  were,  because  they  divorce 
political  from  private  morality.  As  a  prominent 
politician  recently  phrased  it,  they  believe  that 
"  the  purification  of  politics  is  an  iridescent  dream ; 
the  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  have  no  place 
in  a  political  campaign."  The  cynicism,  no  less 
silly  than  vicious,  with  which  such  men  regard 
political  life  is  repaid  by  the  contemptuous  anger 
with  which  they  themselves  are  regarded  by  all 
men  who  are  proud  of  their  country  and  wish  her 
well. 

If  the  citizens  can  be  thoroughly  waked  up,  and 
a  plain,  naked  issue  of  right  and  wrong  presented 
to  them,  they  can  always  be  trusted.  The  trouble 
is  that  in  ordinary  times  the  self-seeking  political 
mercenaries  are  the  only  persons  who  both  keep 
alert  and  understand  the  situation;  and  they 
commonly  reap  their  reward.  The  mass  of  vicious 
and  ignorant  voters — especially  among  those  of 
foreign  origin — forms  a  trenchant  weapon  forged 
ready  to  their  hand,  and  presents  a  standing  menace 


Recent  History  255 

to  our  prosperity ;  and  the  selfish  and  short-sighted 
indifference  of  decent  men  is  only  one  degree  less 
dangerous.  Yet  of  recent  years  there  has  been 
among  men  of  character  and  good  standing  a 
steady  growth  of  interest  in,  and  of  a  feeling  of 
responsibility  for,  our  politics.  This  otherwise 
most  healthy  growth  has  been  at  times  much 
hampered  and  warped  by  the  political  ignorance 
and  bad  judgment  of  the  leaders  in  the  movement. 
Too  often  the  educated  men  who  without  having 
had  any  practical  training  as  politicians  yet  turn 
their  attention  to  politics,  are  and  remain  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  real  workings  of  our  governmental 
system,  and  in  their  attitude  toward  our  public 
men  oscillate  between  excessive  credulity  concern- 
ing their  idol  of  the  moment  and  jealous,  ignorant 
prejudice  against  those  with  whom  they  tem- 
porarily disagree.  They  forget,  moreover,  that 
the  man  who  really  counts  in  the  world  is  the  doer, 
not  the  mere  critic, — the  man  who  actually  does 
the  work,  even  if  roughly  and  imperfectly,  not  the 
man  who  only  talks  or  writes  about  how  it  ought 
to  be  done. 

Neither  the  unintelligent  and  rancorous  par- 
tisan, nor  the  unintelligent  and  rancorous  inde- 
pendent, is  a  desirable  member  of  the  body  politic ; 
and  it  is  unfortunately  true  of  each  of  them  that 
he  seems  to  regard  with  special  and  sour  hatred, 
not  the  bad  man,  but  the  good  man  with  whom  he 


256  New  York 

politically  differs.  Above  all,  every  young  man 
should  realize  that  it  is  a  disgrace  to  him  not  to 
take  active  part  in  some  way  in  the  work  of  gov- 
erning the  city.  Whoever  fails  to  do  this,  fails 
notably  in  his  duty  to  the  Commonwealth. 

The  character  of  the  immigration  to  the  city  is 
changing.  The  Irish,  who  in  i860  formed  three- 
fifths  of  the  foreign-born  population,  have  come 
in  steadily  lessening  numbers,  until  the  Germans 
stand  well  at  the  head;  while  increasing  multi- 
tudes of  Italians,  Poles,  Bohemians,  Russian  Jews, 
and  Hungarians — both  Sclaves  and  Magyars — 
continually  arrive.  The  English  and  Scandi- 
navian elements  among  the  immigrants  have  like- 
wise increased.  At  the  present  time  four-fifths 
of  New  York's  population  are  of  foreign  birth  or 
parentage ;  and  among  them  there  has  been  as  yet 
but  little  race  intermixture,  though  the  rising 
generation  is  as  a  whole  well  on  the  way  to  com- 
plete Americanization.  Certainly  hardly  a  tenth 
of  the  people  are  of  old  Revolutionary  American 
stock.  The  Catholic  Church  has  continued  to 
grow  at  a  rate  faster  than  the  general  rate  of  in- 
crease. The  Episcopalian  and  Lutheran  are  the 
only  Protestant  churches  whereof  the  growth  has 
kept  pace  with  that  of  the  population. 

The  material  prosperity  of  the  city  has  increased 
steadily.  There  has  been  a  marked  improvement 
in  architecture;  and  one  really  great  engineering 


Recent  History  257 

work,  the  bridge  across  the  East  River,  was  com- 
pleted in  1883.  The  stately  and  beautiful  River- 
side Drive,  skirting  the  Hudson,  along  the  hills 
which  front  the  river,  from  the  middle  of  the  island 
northward,  is  well  worth  mention.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  striking  roads  or  streets  of  which  any  city 
can  boast,  and  the  handsome  houses  that  are 
springing  up  along  it  bid  fair  to  make  the  neighbor- 
hood the  most  attractive  portion  of  New  York. 
Another  attractive  feature  of  the  city  is  Central 
Park,  while  many  other  parks  are  being  planned 
and  laid  out  beyond  where  the  town  has  as  yet 
been  built  up.  There  are  large  numbers  of  hand- 
some social  clubs,  such  as  the  Knickerbocker, 
Union,  and  University,  and  many  others  of  a 
politico-social  character, — the  most  noted  of  them, 
alike  for  its  architecture,  political  influence,  and 
its  important  past  history,  being  the  Union 
League  Club. 

There  are  many  public  buildings  which  are 
extremely  interesting  as  showing  the  growth  of  a 
proper  civic  spirit,  and  of  a  desire  for  a  life  with 
higher  possibilities  than  money-making.  There 
has  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  number  of 
hospitals,  many  of  them  admirably  equipped  and 
managed;  and  the  numerous  Newsboys'  Lodging 
Houses,  Night  Schools,  Working-Girls'  Clubs  and 
the  like,  bear  witness  to  the  fact  that  many  New 
Yorkers  who  have  at  their  disposal  time  or  money 
17 


258  New  York 

are  alive  to  their  responsibilities,  and  are  actively 
striving  to  help  their  less  fortunate  fellows  to  help 
themselves.  The  Cooper  Union  building,  a  gift 
to  the  city  for  the  use  of  all  its  citizens,  in  the 
widest  sense,  keeps  alive  the  memory  of  old  Peter 
Cooper,  a  man  whose  broad  generosity  and  simple 
kindliness  of  character,  while  not  rendering  him 
fit  for  the  public  life  into  which  he  at  times  sought 
entrance,  yet  inspired  in  New  Yorkers  of  every 
class  a  genuine  regard  such  as  they  felt  for  no 
other  philanthropist.  Indeed,  uncharitableness  and 
lack  of  generosity  have  never  been  New  York 
failings;  the  citizens  are  keenly  sensible  to  any 
real,  tangible  distress  or  need.  A  blizzard  in 
Dakota,  an  earthquake  in  South  Carolina,  a  flood 
in  Pennsylvania, — after  any  such  catastrophe 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  are  raised  in  New 
York  at  a  day's  notice,  for  the  relief  of  the  suf- 
ferers; while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  raise  money  for  a  monument  or  a  work 
of  art. 

It  is  necessary  both  to  appeal  to  the  practical 
business  sense  of  the  citizens  and  to  stir  the  real 
earnestness  and  love  of  country  which  lie  under- 
neath the  somewhat  coarse-grained  and  not  always 
attractive  surface  of  the  community,  in  order  to 
make  it  show  its  real  strength.  Thus,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  in  case  of  any  important  foreign  war 
or  domestic  disturbance  New  York  would  back 


Recent  History  259 

up  the  general  government  with  men  and  money 
to  a  practically  unlimited  extent.  For  all  its 
motley  population,  there  is  a  most  wholesome 
underlying  spirit  of  patriotism  in  the  city,  if  it  can 
only  be  roused.  Few  will  question  this  who  saw 
the  great  processions  on  land  and  water,  and  the 
other  ceremonies  attendant  upon  the  celebration 
of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  vast  crowds 
which  thronged  the  streets  were  good-humored 
and  orderly  to  a  degree,  and  were  evidently  in- 
terested in  much  more  than  the  mere  spectacular 
part  of  the  celebration.  They  showed  by  every 
action  their  feeling  that  it  was  indeed  peculiarly 
their  celebration;  for  it  commemorated  the  hun- 
dred years'  duration  of  a  government  which,  with 
many  shortcomings,  had  nevertheless  secured 
order  and  enforced  law,  and  yet  was  emphatically 
a  government  of  the  people,  giving  to  the  working- 
man  a  chance  which  he  has  never  had  elsewhere. 
In  all  the  poorer  quarters  of  the  city,  where  the 
population  was  overwhelmingly  of  foreign  birth 
or  origin,  the  national  flag,  the  stars  and  stripes, 
hung  from  every  window,  and  the  picture  of 
Washington  was  displayed  wherever  there  was 
room.  Flag  and  portrait  alike  were  tokens  that 
those  who  had  come  to  our  shores  already  felt 
due  reverence  and  love  for  the  grand  memory 
of  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other,  laid  the 


260  New  York 

foundation  of  our  government;  and  that  they 
already  challenged  as  their  own  American  nation- 
ality and  American  life,  glorying  in  the  Nation's 
past  and  confident  in  its  future. 

In  science  and  art,  in  musical  and  literary  de- 
velopment, much  remains  to  be  wished  for;  yet 
something  has  already  been  done.  The  building 
of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Opera  House,  the  gradual  change  of  Columbia 
College  into  a  University, — all  show  a  develop- 
ment which  tends  to  make  the  city  more  and  more 
attractive  to  people  of  culture ;  and  the  growth  of 
literary  and  dramatic  clubs,  such  as  the  Century 
and  the  Players,  is  scarcely  less  significant.  The 
illustrated  monthly  magazines  —  the  Century, 
Scribner's,  and  Harper's — occupy  an  entirely 
original  position  of  a  very  high  order  in  periodical 
literature.  The  greatest  piece  of  literary  work 
which  has  been  done  in  America,  or  indeed  any- 
where, of  recent  years,  was  done  by  a  citizen  of 
New  York, — not  a  professed  man  of  letters,  but  a 
great  General,  an  ex-President  of  the  United 
States,  writing  his  memoirs  on  his  death-bed,  to 
save  his  family  from  want.  General  Grant's  book 
has  had  an  extraordinary  sale  among  the  people 
at  large,  though  even  yet  hardly  appreciated  at  its 
proper  worth  by  the  critics ;  and  it  is  scarcely  too 
high  praise   to   say  that,  both   because  of  the 


Recent  History  261 

intrinsic  worth  of  the  matter,  and  because  of  its 
strength  and  simplicity  as  a  piece  of  literary  work, 
it  almost  deserves  to  rank  with  the  speeches  and 
writings  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  fact  that  General  Grant  toward  the  end  of 
his  life  made  New  York  his  abode, — as  General 
Sherman  has  since  done, — illustrates  what  is 
now  a  well-marked  tendency  of  prominent  men 
throughout  the  country  to  come  to  this  city  to 
live.  There  is  no  such  leaning  toward  centraliza- 
tion, socially  or  politically,  in  the  United  States 
as  in  most  European  countries,  and  no  one  of  our 
cities  will  ever  assume  toward  the  others  a  position 
similar  to  that  held  in  their  own  countries  by  Lon- 
don, Paris,  Vienna,  or  Berlin.  There  are  in  the 
United  States  ten  or  a  dozen  cities  each  of  which 
stands  as  the  social  and  commercial,  though  rarely 
as  the  political,  capital  of  a  district  as  large  as  an 
average  European  kingdom.  No  one  of  them 
occupies  a  merely  provincial  position  as  compared 
with  any  other ;  while  the  political  capital  of  the 
country,  the  beautiful  city  of  Washington,  stands 
apart  with  a  most  attractive  and  unique  life  of  its 
own.  There  is  thus  no  chance  for  New  York  to 
take  an  unquestioned  leadership  in  all  respects. 
Nevertheless,  its  life  is  so  intense  and  so  varied, 
and  so  full  of  manifold  possibilities,  that  it  has  a 
special  and  peculiar  fascination  for  ambitious  and 
high-spirited  men  of  every  kind,  whether  they  wish 


262  New  York 

to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  past  toil,  or  whether  they 
have  yet  their  fortunes  to  make,  and  feel  confident 
that  they  can  swim  in  troubled  waters, — for  weak- 
lings have  small  chance  of  forging  to  the  front 
against  the  turbulent  tide  of  our  city  life.  The 
truth  is  that  every  man  worth  his  salt  has  open  to 
him  in  New  York  a  career  of  boundless  usefulness 
and  interest. 

As  for  the  upper  social  world,  the  fashionable 
world,  it  is  much  as  it  was  when  portrayed  in  the 
"Potiphar  Papers,"  save  that  modern  society  has 
shifted  the  shrine  at  which  it  pays  comical  but 
sincere  homage  from  Paris  to  London.  Perhaps 
it  is  rather  better,  for  it  is  less  provincial  and  a 
trifle  more  American.  But  a  would-be  upper  class 
based  mainly  on  wealth,  in  which  it  is  the  excep- 
tion and  not  the  rule  for  a  man  to  be  of  any  real 
account  in  the  national  life,  whether  as  a  poli- 
tician, a  literary  man,  or  otherwise,  is  of  necessity 
radically  defective  and  of  little  moment. 

Grim  dangers  confront  us  in  the  future,  yet  there 
is  more  ground  to  believe  that  we  shall  succeed 
than  that  we  shall  fail  in  overcoming  them.  Tak- 
ing into  account  the  enormous  mass  of  immigrants, 
utterly  unused  to  self-government  of  any  kind, 
who  have  been  thrust  into  our  midst,  and  are  even 
yet  not  assimilated,  the  wonder  is  not  that  uni- 
versal suffrage  has  worked  so  badly,  but  that  it  has 
worked  so  well.     We  are  better,  not  worse  off, 


Recent  History  263 

than  we  were  a  generation  ago.  There  is  much 
gross  civic  corruption  and  commercial  and  social 
selfishness  and  immorality,  upon  which  we  are  in 
honor  bound  to  wage  active  and  relentless  war. 
But  honesty  and  moral  cleanliness  are  the  rule; 
and  under  the  laws  order  is  well  preserved,  and  all 
men  are  kept  secure  in  the  possession  of  life,  lib- 
erty, and  property.  The  sons  and  grandsons  of  the 
immigrants  of  fifty  years  back  have  as  a  whole 
become  good  Americans,  and  have  prospered 
wonderfully,  both  as  regards  their  moral  and  ma- 
terial well-being.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  condition  of  the  working  classes  as  a  whole 
has  grown  worse,  though  there  are  enormous  bod- 
ies of  them  whose  condition  is  certainly  very  bad. 
There  are  grave  social  dangers  and  evils  to  meet, 
but  there  are  plenty  of  earnest  men  and  women 
who  devote  their  minds  and  energies  to  meeting 
them.  With  many  very  serious  shortcomings  and 
defects,  the  average  New  Yorker  yet  possesses 
courage,  energy,  business  capacity,  much  gener- 
osity of  a  practical  sort,  and  shrewd,  humorous 
common  sense.  The  greedy  tyranny  of  the  un- 
scrupulous rich  and  the  anarchic  violence  of  the 
vicious  and  ignorant  poor  are  ever  threatening 
dangers;  but  though  there  is  every  reason  why 
we  should  realize  the  gravity  of  the  perils  ahead 
of  us,  there  is  none  why  we  should  not  face  them 
with  confident  and  resolute  hope,  if  only  each  of 


264  New  York 

us,  according  to  the  measure  of  his  capacity,  will 
with  manly  honesty  and  good  faith  do  his  full 
share  of  the  all-important  duties  incident  to 
American  citizenship. 


POSTSCRIPT. 

DURING  the  five  years  that  have  passed  since 
I  wrote  this  book,  there  has  occurred  in 
New  York  a  political  revolution  so  note- 
worthy that  it  may  be  well  briefly  to  tell  of  its 
principal  features.  It  was  barely  second  in  im- 
portance to  the  revolution  which  resulted  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  Tweed  ring. 

Ever  since  the  days  of  Tweed,  Tammany  Hall 
has,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  brief  periods,  been 
the  controlling  force  in  the  New  York  City  De- 
mocracy, and  has  generally  held  the  reins  of 
government  in  the  city  itself.  There  have  been 
honorable  men  in  Tammany,  and  there  have  been 
occasions  on  which  Tammany  has  acted  well  and 
has  deserved  well  of  the  country;  nevertheless, 
speaking  broadly,  it  may  be  said  that  Tammany 
has  always  stood  for  what  was  worst  in  our  po- 
litical life,  and  especially  in  our  municipal  politics. 
The  Tammany  Hall  organization  is  a  machine  of 
ideal  perfection  for  its  own  purposes.  It  has  as 
leaders  a  number  of  men  of  great  ability  in  certain 
special  directions.  The  rank  and  file  of  its  mem- 
bers are  recruited  from  the  most  ignorant  portion 
of  the  city's  population,  coming  from  among  the 
voters  who  can  usually  be  voted  in  a  mass  by 

265 


266  New  York 

those  who  have  influence  over  them.  This  in- 
fluence is  sometimes  obtained  by  appeals  to  their 
prejudices  and  by  the  lowest  art  of  the  demagogue ; 
sometimes  it  is  obtained  by  downright  corruption, 
sometimes  it  is  obtained  through  the  influence  the 
local  Tammany  organizations  exert  on  the  social 
life  of  their  neighborhoods.  The  District  leaders 
are  able  in  a  hundred  ways  to  benefit  their  follow- 
ers. They  try  to  get  them  work  when  they  are 
idle;  they  provide  amusement  for  them  in  the 
shape  of  picnics  and  steamboat  excursions;  and, 
in  exceptional  cases,  they  care  for  them  when 
suffering  from  want  or  sickness;  and  they  are 
always  ready  to  help  them  when  they  have  fallen 
into  trouble  with  the  representatives  of  the  law. 
They  thus  get  a  very  strong  influence  over  a  large 
class,  the  members  of  which  are  ordinarily  fairly 
decent  men,  who  work  with  reasonable  industry 
at  their  trades,  but  who  never  get  far  ahead,  who 
at  times  fall  into  want,  and  who  sometimes  have 
kinsfolk  of  semi-criminal  type.  These  men  are 
apt  to  regard  the  saloon  as  their  club-house ;  often, 
indeed,  the  saloons  are  the  headquarters  of  the 
District  political  organizations,  and  become  in  a 
double  sense  the  true  social  centers  of  neighbor- 
hood life. 

To  the  mass  of  citizens  of  this  kind  the  local 
political  leaders  are  not  merely  individuals  of 
whose  public  actions  they  approve  or  disapprove 


Postscript  267 

as  mere  disinterested  outside  critics.  On  the  con- 
trary, these  leaders  are  men  with  whose  welfare 
their  own  is  often  intimately  bound;  men  who 
can,  and  do,  render  them  important  services,  both 
proper  and  improper,  on  occasions  when  they  are 
in  need.  It  is  impossible  ever  to  understand  the 
power  of  the  political  machines  in  New  York  City 
life  until  the  importance  of  their  social  side  is  fully 
grasped.  Their  social  functions,  the  part  they 
play  in  the  everyday  life  of  the  people,  constitute 
the  chief  reason  for  their  overwhelming  predomi- 
nance in  the  political  field. 

The  saloons  form  on  the  whole  the  most  potent 
factor  in  the  political  life  of  those  Districts  where 
the  population  is  the  most  congested,  where  the 
people  are  poorest  and  most  ignorant,  and  where 
the  evils  of  machine  domination  are  most  acutely 
felt.  In  consequence,  the  saloon-keeper  is,  nine 
times  out  of  ten,  a  more  or  less  influential  poli- 
tician. In  Tammany  Hall  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  leaders  are,  or  have  been,  saloon-keepers. 
The  saloon-keeper  is  usually  a  comparatively  rich 
man,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  most  of  the  people  with 
whom  he  is  thrown  in  contact.  He  is  brought  into 
intimate  connection  with  a  large  number  of  voters, 
and  he  has  rooms  which  they  find  offer  the  best 
accommodations  for  club  purposes.  He  is  thus 
able  to  get  much  influence  which  he  can  either 
use  as  a  politician  himself,  or  can  wield  in  the 


268  New  York 

interest  of  other  politicians.  On  the  other  hand, 
his  is  a  business  which  always  tempts  to  law- 
breaking.  New  York  City  receives  its  law  from 
New  York  State.  Country  Districts  are  always 
favorable  to  temperance  legislation.  New  York 
contains  a  very  large  element  which  objects  to  any 
regulation  of  the  sale  of  liquor,  and  which  con- 
tinually wishes  to  drink  at  hours  when  drinking  is 
prohibited  by  law.  New  York  State,  for  instance, 
has  always  insisted  that  the  saloons  everywhere, 
including  those  in  New  York  City,  should  be 
closed  on  Sundays;  but  in  New  York  City  there 
has  been  always  a  very  large  number  of  people 
who  wanted  the  saloons  open,  and  there  has  gen- 
erally been  entire  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  city 
officials  that  the  saloons  should  stay  open  in 
defiance  of  the  law,  so  long  as  they  paid  for  the 
privilege,  and  did  not  antagonize  the  authorities 
in  some  question  of  moment.  In  consequence, 
the  saloon-keeper,  who  did  his  most  thriving  trade 
on  Sunday,  stood  in  urgent  need  of  the  protection 
which  could  be  granted  by  the  local  politician. 
Accordingly,  every  saloon-keeper  could,  on  the 
one  hand,  be  most  useful  to  the  local  political 
leaders,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  needed  the  ser- 
vices of  the  local  political  leaders.  The  conse- 
quence was  a  very  close  connection  between  the 
saloon-keeper  and  the  politician.  A  further  conse- 
quence was  that  the  saloons  became  one  of  the 


Postscript  269 

chief  elements  in  bringing  about  the  gross  political 

corruption  of  New  York. 

The  politics,  both  of  New  York  City  and  of 
New  York  State,  continually  suffer  kaleidoscope 
changes.  Told  in  detail,  their  political  history  is 
but  the  unraveling  of  a  tangle  of  faction  fights 
and  intrigues.  If,  however,  we  disregard  the 
names  of  these  factions,  we  can  readily  get  a  clear 
glimpse  of  the  forces  at  work  in  New  York. 
Within  the  Democratic  party,  Tammany  has 
ordinarily  dominated,  but  the  anti-Tammany 
Democrats  are  continually  joining  into  an  or- 
ganization, or  organizations,  which  are  always  of 
ephemeral  existence,  but  which  sometimes  accom- 
plish a  great  deal  during  their  short  lease  of  life. 
The  Republicans  include  normally  rather  over 
two-fifths  of  the  voters  of  the  city.  There  is 
among  them  a  corrupt  element  which  is  often 
delighted  to  make  a  deal  with  Tammany,  accept- 
ing a  few  offices  in  consideration  of  securing 
Tammany's  control  over  the  remainder. 

Of  late  years,  a  strong  feeling  has  grown  among 
honest  and  self-respecting  men  that  in  municipal 
matters  there  should  not  be  a  division  along  the 
lines  of  cleavage  between  the  National  parties. 
For  years  the  great  effort  of  New  York  municipal 
reformers  has  been  to  combine  good  citizens 
against  Tammany.  The  Republican  machine  has 
sometimes  helped,  and  sometimes  hindered  these 


270  New  York 

efforts,  and  the  same  has  been  true  of  the  various 
Democratic  anti-Tammany  organizations.  At  the 
elections  Tammany  always  runs  a  ticket.  Some 
times  it  receives  the  solid  support  of  the  entire 
Democracy.  More  rarely  it  makes  a  virtue  of 
necessity  and  indorses  a  decent  ticket  nominated 
by  other  Democrats.  Sometimes  it  fights  for  its 
own  hand  against  both  an  anti-Tammany  Demo- 
cratic ticket  and  a  Republican  ticket.  Sometimes 
its  nominee  for  mayor  is  opposed  by  an  anti-Tam- 
many man,  whether  Republican  or  Democrat, 
supported  by  a  coalition  of  all  the  anti-Tammany 
forces.  The  elements  opposed  to  Tammany  are 
so  incongruous,  and  there  is  so  much  jealousy 
among  them,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  bring  them 
into  any  permanent  combination.  Still,  when- 
ever an  anti-Tammany  Democrat  has  been  elected 
to  office,  it  has  always  been  through  the  [powerful 
element  of  Republican  voters,  whether  the  help 
was  given  through  the  Republican  machine  or 
against  its  wishes.  In  return,  a  certain  proportion 
of  the  anti-Tammany  Democratic  vote  has  always 
been  willing  to  support  a  Republican  candidate 
against  Tammany. 

From  the  defeat  of  Tweed  up  to  1888,  Tam- 
many, though  dominant  in  New  York  City  poli- 
tics, always  held  a  divided  sway.  In  1888, 
however,  it  obtained  absolute  power.  A  Tam- 
many mayor  was  elected  by  an  enormous  plurality, 


Postscript  271 

the  Republican  candidate  standing  second,  and 
the  anti-Tammany  Democrat  third.  The  gov- 
ernorship and  the  State  legislature  were  both  in 
the  hands  of  Tammany's  most  faithful  Democratic 
allies.  The  chief  power  in  the  city  government  is 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  mayor ;  and  when  he  is 
backed  by  the  governor  and  legislature  his  powers 
are  almost  dictatorial.  In  1890,  the  Republicans 
supported  the  anti-Tammany  nominee  for  mayor. 
This  was  the  year  of  the  Democratic  tidal-wave, 
and  the  Tammany  candidate  won  by  a  large 
majority.  In  1892,  the  anti-Tammany  Demo- 
crats surrendered  to  Tammany  and  supported  its 
nominee,  who  beat  the  Republican  candidate  with 
the  greatest  ease.  During  all  these  years  corrup- 
tion grew  apace  in  the  city  government.  The 
Tammany  officials  had  put  their  foes  under  their 
feet,  and  no  longer  feared  resistance  or  criticism. 
They  did  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to  over- 
turn them.  They  did  whatever  was  right  in  their 
own  eyes;  and  what  was  right  in  their  eyes  was 
generally  very  wrong  indeed  in  the  eyes  of  men 
who  believed  in  the  elementary  principles  of  hon- 
esty. When,  with  the  Presidential  election  of  1892, 
the  Republican  party  went  out  of  power  in  city, 
State,  and  nation  alike,  while  Tammany  was  left 
supreme  and  unopposed  in  the  city  and  State 
Democracy, the  Tammany  leaders  threw  off  the  last 
bonds  of  restraint,  and  acted  with  contemptuous 


272  New  York 

defiance  of  decent  public  opinion.  Corruption 
and  blackmail  grew  apace,  and  the  dominant 
note  in  the  Tammany  organization  was  a  cynical 
contempt  of  decent  public  opinion.  This  brought 
about  its  own  punishment.  The  abuses  in  many 
of  the  departments,  notably  in  the  police  force  and 
among  the  city  magistrates,  became  so  gross  as  to 
shock  even  men  of  callous  conscience.  The  public 
indignation  was  latent,  but  it  existed,  ready  to 
take  effective  shape  if  only  the  right  man  arose  to 
direct  its  manifestation. 

The  man  was  found  in  the  person  of  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  the  Rev.  Charles  W.  Parkhurst. 
Single-handed,  he  began  a  crusade  against  the 
gross  political  corruption  of  the  city  government. 
He  made  his  fight  entirely  outside  of  political  lines, 
or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  fair  to  say  that  he 
made  it  without  regard  to  national  politics,  at- 
tacking the  city  officials  simply  as  malefactors,  and 
urging  a  union  of  all  decent  men  against  them. 
At  first  he  was  rewarded  merely  by  ridicule  and 
abuse;  but  he  never  flinched  for  a  moment,  and 
decent  sentiment  began  to  crystallize  in  his  sup- 
port. Moreover,  the  blunders  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  State  and  national  affairs  helped  the 
reformers,  precisely  as  the  shortcomings  of  the 
Republicans  had  helped  Tammany  in  1890  and 
1892.  In  1893,  the  State  Democracy,  under  the 
lead   of   Senator  Hill,  Tammany's    stanch   ally, 


Postscript  273 

nominated  for  judge  a  man  who  had  been  dis- 
agreeably implicated  in  election  frauds.  Even 
men  of  low  political  morality  dislike  a  tainted 
judiciary,  and  this  nomination  shocked  many  men 
who  never  before  had  bolted  the  Democratic 
ticket.  The  Bar  of  the  State,  and  especially  the 
Bar  of  the  city,  was  nearly  unanimous  in  denun- 
ciation of  the  nomination.  Tammany  and  its 
allies  put  forth  every  effort  to  overcome  this  hos- 
tile sentiment.  Not  since  the  days  of  Seymour's 
candidacy  for  President  was  the  cheating  so  open 
and  scandalous  in  New  York  City.  In  other 
places,  notably  at  Coney  Island,  it  was  quite  as 
flagrant.  Nevertheless,  the  obnoxious  candidate 
was  defeated  by  one  hundred  thousand  votes,  and 
a  Republican  legislature  was  elected. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  like  an  electric 
shock  to  the  whole  reform  movement.  But  a  year 
before  it  had  seemed  hopeless  to  awaken  the  con- 
science of  decent  citizens,  and  still  more  hopeless 
to  expect  to  punish  a  wrong-doer.  Now  all  was 
changed.  The  men  most  conspicuous  in  the 
electoral  frauds  were  vigorously  prosecuted,  and 
some  forty  of  them  were  sent  to  prison  for  longer 
or.  shorter  periods.  A  Legislative  Committee 
started  to  investigate  the  condition  of  municipal 
affairs  in  New  York;  and  before  this  committee 
it  was  shown  that  Dr.  Parkhurst's  accusations 
were  true,  and  that  the  system  of  blackmailing 
18 


274  New  York 

and  corruption  by  the  Tammany  Hall  officials 
and  notably  by  the  Police  Department,  was  as 
appalling  as  he  had  insisted.  In  the  fall  of  1894, 
the  decent  men  of  the  city  joined  together,  and 
nominated  a  union  ticket,  with,  at  its  head,  as 
candidate  for  mayor,  William  A.  Strong,  a  Repub- 
lican. Helped  by  the  general  Republican  tidal- 
wave,  which  in  the  State  secured  the  defeat  of 
Senator  Hill  for  governor  by  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  plurality,  Strong  and  the  rest  of  the 
ticket  were  elected  in  New  York  City,  the  Tam- 
many ticket  being  defeated  by  a  sweeping  ma- 
jority. 

There  followed  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
municipal  government.  The  victory  had  been 
won,  not  on  party  lines,  but  as  a  fight  for  decent 
government,  and  for  the  non-partisan  adminis- 
tration of  municipal  affairs.  Democrat  and  Re- 
publican, Protestant  and  Catholic,  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile, the  man  born  of  native  American  stock  and 
the  man  whose  parents  came  from  Ireland  or 
Germany,  all  had  joined  in  achieving  the  victory. 
The  change  in  the  city  departments  was  radical. 
It  was  not  so  much  a  change  in  policy  as  a  change 
of  administration.  It  is  rather  humiliating  for  a 
New  Yorker  to  have  to  confess  that  this  revo- 
lutionary change  consisted  simply  in  applying 
the  standard  of  common  decency  and  common 
honesty  to    our   public   affairs.     Under  the  old 


Postscript  275 

administration  of  the  departments  corruption  had 
been  so  rife  that  it  may  almost  be  said  to  have 
been  the  rule.  With  the  new  dispensation  there 
came  an  era  of  strict  honesty. 

The  improvement  has  been  so  great  that  it  may 
fairly  be  called  wonderful.  Whether  or  not  it  will 
be  permanent  is  difficult  to  foretell.  I  think  that 
those  are  oversanguine  who  believe  that  there  will 
be  no  falling  back.  On  the  other  hand,  I  do  not 
believe  that  there  will  be  any  permanent  or  com- 
plete return  to  the  old  conditions,  and  I  do  not  feel 
that  good  citizens  should  grow  downhearted  over 
a  momentary  check  or  reaction.  Tammany  Hall 
may  come  back,  but  it  will  be  a  chastened  Tam- 
many Hall.  The  wrong-doing  will  not  be  as 
flagrant  as  formerly,  and  it  will  be  easier  to  arouse 
a  revolt  against  the  wrong-doers. 

That  there  will  be  some  reaction  is  only  to  be 
expected;  and  it  may  be  questioned  whether,  in 
a  city  with  as  composite  a  population  as  New 
York,  where  the  bulk  of  the  voters  have  for  so 
many  years  been  accustomed  to  the  worst  kind 
of  machine  rule,  it  will  be  possible  very  long  to 
maintain  the  standard  quite  as  high  as  it  is  at 
present.  It  is  easier  to  rally  the  varying  elements 
when  in  opposition,  than  to  get  them  to  support 
an  administration  which  is  actually  engaged  in 
the  solution  of  important  problems.  Nevertheless, 
be  the  immediate  outcome  what  it  may,  great  and 


276  New  York 

lasting  good  has  been  done ;  for  New  York  has  been 
shown  that  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  decent  and 
clean  administration  of  municipal  affairs,  free  from 
the  curse  of  spoils  politics,  and  above  all  the  city 
at  last  knows,  by  practical  experience,  the  im- 
mense moral,  no  less  than  material,  gain  which 
arises  from  giving  the  control  of  civic  matters  to 
men  who  are  fearless  and  disinterested,  and  who 
combine  the  virtues  of  honesty  and  common  sense. 


INDEX 


Acadia,  3 

Adventure,  an  age  of,  1,  2 

Advisory  Council,  Minuit's, 
17 ;   Stuy vesant's,  3  6 

Africa,  early  trade  with,  90 

Albany,  Hudson's  arrival 
near  site  of,  8;  establish- 
ment of  post  near  site,  1 1 ; 
refuses  allegiance  to  Leis- 
ler's  rule,  8s;  trade  with, 
90 

Aldermen,  first,  50;  office 
abolished,  55;  elected  by 
freeholders,  67;  disorderly 
election  for,  103;  "  rights ' ' 
of,  177;  how  elected  after 
Revolution,  178;  a  local 
legislature,  178 

Algonquins,  massacre  of,  27; 
reasons  for  their  defeats,  29 

Allotment  Commission,  the, 
248 

America,  Spanish  possessions 
in,  2,  3;  uncertain  owner- 
ship in  early  times,  3 

American  Fur  Company,  218 

American  Museum  of  Natu- 
ral History,  260 

Amusements,  of  early  set- 
tlers, 39,115;  at  beginning 
of  nineteenth  century,  203, 
204 

Anarchy,  threatened,  30 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  ap- 
pointed governor,  58;  re- 
instates English  form  of 
government,  58;  makes 
Jnglish    the    official    lan- 


guage, 59;  character  of  his 
rule,  60;   grants  monopoly 
of  bolting  and   exporting 
flour,  60;  abolishes  Indian 
slavery,    61;     hostility   to 
Puritans,    61;     summoned 
to  England,   62;    restored 
to  favor,  62;   reappointed, 
69;    imprisonment  of,   70; 
consequences  of  fall  of,  73 
Annexed  District,  the,  245 
Anti-Monopolist  party,  236 
Architecture,  240,  257 
Aristocratic  element,  17,  49, 

114  and  note 
Aristocratic  party,  in  1689, 
74 ;  supported  by  Fletcher, 
97,  98;  trial  of  leaders  for 
treason,  103 
Armorial  bearings,  115 
Art,  encouragement  of,  240 
Assembly,  the,  constitution 
of,  66;  early  acts  of,  66; 
property  qualification  for 
election  to,  87;  struggles 
in,  88,  89;  Fletcher's  in- 
terference with  elections 
for,  96,  97;  characteristics 
of,  98;  quarrels  with  Flet- 
cher, 99;  parsimony  as 
regards  defenses,  99,  128, 
129;  condemns  Roman 
Catholic  priests  to  death, 
105;  issues  paper  money, 
107;  minority  of  popular 
party  in,  142;  set  aside, 
and  replaced  by  Provincial 
Congress,  156 


277 


2jB 


Index 


Astor,  John  Jacob,  217,  219 

Astor  Library,  218 

Astor  Place  Riots,  233,  234 

Asylums,  206 

Australia,  owes  practical  in- 
dependence to  United 
States,  131 

Backwoodsman,  evolution  of 

the,  24 
Bakery,  the  first,  18 
Ballston  Springs,  204 
Bankruptcy  of  States,  180 
Banks,  chartering  of,  201 
Baptists,  refuge  for,  26;  per- 
secuted by  Stuyvesant,  42 ; 
strength  before  the  Revo- 
lution and  at  present  day, 
109 
Battery  Park,  204 
Bayard,  Col.  Nicholas,  leader 
of    aristocratic    party    in 
1689,  74;    colonel  of  train- 
bands,   75;     chased    from 
the  city,  82 
Bayard  House,  feast  at,  185 
Beekman,  David,  128,  note 
Beekman,  William,  128,  note 
Bellomont,  Earl  of,  succeeds 
Gov.  Fletcher,  99;  charac- 
ter, 99,  100;    favors  Leis- 
lerians  and  popular  party, 
100 ;  honors  bodies  01  Leis- 
ler  and  Milborne,  100 ;  con- 
nection with  Capt.   Kidd, 
101;    land  policy  of,   102; 
death,  103 
Berrian,  John,  156,  note 
Bigotry,  70 
Billeting  Act,  opposition  to, 

142,  143 
Binckes,  Adm.,  takes  the  city, 

54 
Blackball  Line  of  packets,  221 
Block,  Adrian,  loses  vessel  by 

fire,  8;    builds  first  ship  in 

American  waters,  9 


Blockade  of  city,  209 
Bogardus,  Dominie,  20,  27 
Bohemian  immigration,  256 
Bond  servants,  118,  119 
Boston,  Mass.,  mail  between 
New  York  and,  54;    com- 
pared with  New  York  in 
1 7 10,  108;    sentiment  and 
action  about  Tea  Act,  146; 
New  York  refuses  aid  to 
British  garrison  at,  154 
Boston    Massacre,    not    first 
bloodshed  in    Revolution, 

^  I4S- 
Bouenes,  18 

Bowling  Green,  Stamp  Act 
riots  on,  140 

Brazil,  despoiled  by  the  West 
India  Company,  13 

Bread  riots,  234 

Breda,  Peace  of ,  51 

Brewery,  the  first,  18 

Bribery,  early,  100;  Gov. 
Cornbury  influenced  by, 
104;  in  street  railway 
cases,  239 

British  fleet,  New  York  the 
base  of  operations  of,  161; 
action  on  the  Hudson,  165 

British  occupation,  166,  272 

British  troops,  New  York  the 
base  of  operations  of,  161 ; 
make  New  York  their 
headquarters,  166;  treat- 
ment of  captured  city,  167 

Brockholls,  Anthony,  Lt.- 
Gov.,  in  charge  of  colony, 
62;  inefficiency,  62 

Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Revolution- 
ary forces  at,  161 

Brown,  Charles  Brockden, 
208 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  240 

Burgomasters,  abolition  of, 
49;   office  restored,  55 

Burr,  Aaron,  in  retreat  at 
Kip's  Bay,  164;  a  resident 


Index 


279 


of  New  York,  181;  power 
in  city  democracy,  189; 
elected  senator,  189;  dis- 
liked by  Hamilton,  189; 
defeat  in  1799,  189;  can- 
didate for  Vice-Presidency, 
191;  tactics  in  election  of 
1800,  191;  elected  Vice- 
President,  192;  tie  vote  in 
Electoral  College,  193;  an- 
tagonism of  Jefferson  to, 
197;  driven  out  of  Demo- 
cratic party,  198;  candi- 
date for  governorship,  198 ; 
kills  Hamilton  in  duel,  199 ; 
ostracized,  199;  bill  to  in- 
troduce water  into  the 
city,  201 

Canada,  futile  expedition 
against,  83,  84;  effect  of 
English  conquest  of,  on 
American  history,  126,  132 

Canal  Street,  site  of,  14; 
origin  of  name,  37 

Capital,  New  York  the  Fed- 
eral, 185 

Catskill  Mountains,  8 

Centennial  celebration  of 
adoption  of  Federal  Con- 
stitution,   259 

Central  Park,  257 

Century  Club,  260 

"  Century  Magazine, "the,  260 

Charities,  206,  257 

Charles  II.,  death  of,  68 

Charter  of  1857,  239 

Charter  of  Liberties  and  Priv- 
ileges, 66 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  possibili- 
ties in  his  statesmanship, 

137 
China  trade,  175 
Cholera,  plague  of  1832,  232 
Christiansen,  Hendrik,  head 

of  Dutch  posts,  9;    death 

of,  10 


Christmas,  observance  of,  116 
Church,  the  first,  19,  38 
Churches,   turned  into  pris- 
ons,   167,    168;    repair   of, 

173 

Church  of  England,  the  State 
church,  87,  hi.;  the  fash- 
ionable organization,  112; 
controls  King's  College, 
112;  enmity  to,  153;  see 
also  Episcopalian 

Citizenship,  early  admission 
of  foreigners  to,  47,  66 

City  Council,  dispersed  by 
Leisler's  troops,  78,  82 

City  Hall,  headquarters  of 
Lt.-Gov.  Ingoldsby,  86; 
used  as  prison,  170 

Civil  rights,  guaranteed  by 
Gov.  Nicolls,  47 

Civil  War,  early  threats  of, 
180;  New  York  during  the, 

245 

Class  divisions,  202 

Class  government,  87 

Clergy,  action  of  Roman 
Catholic,  during  draft  riots, 
249 

Clergyman,  the  first  regular, 
20 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  first  scholar 
of  Columbia  College,  173; 
rise  of,  189;  member  of 
Council  of  Appointment, 
193;  principles  of  appoint- 
ment to  office,  196;  mayor, 
197;  fights  a  duel,  199; 
constructs  Erie  Canal,  215; 
introduces    spoils    system, 

2I5 
Clinton,  Gen.  George,  opposes 
evacuation  of  New  York, 
162;  character,  163,  182; 
opposes  union  of  States, 
182;  election  frauds  in  in- 
terest of,  187;  manage- 
ment   of   patronage,    188, 


280 


Index 


196;  elected  governor,  193, 
elected  Vice-President,  198 

Clinton  family,  leaders  of 
Democracy,  191;  distrust 
of  Burr,  191;  apportion- 
ment of  patronage  among, 
197;  opposition  to  Burr, 
197 

Clipper  ships,  220 

Clubs,  52,  257 

Coast  trade,  90 

Cod-fisheries,  53 

Coffee-houses,  118 

Colden,  Gov.  Cadwallader, 
attempts  to  enforce  Stamp 
Act,  139;  hung  in  effigy, 
140;  burned  in  effigy,  140; 
yields  custody  of  stamps  to 
municipal  authorities,  141 

Colonial  families,  descent  of 
prominent,  87,  note 

Colonialism,  spirit  of,  241 

Colonial  system,  vice  of,  15, 
126 

Colonies,  Congress  of,  83; 
English  restrictions  on 
trade  of,  98;  Tory  and 
neutral  element  in,  150 

Colonists,  first,  13;  love  of 
liberty  among  English, 
127;  home  tie  of,  a  draw- 
back, 133;  feeling  of,  on 
their  reputed  inferiority, 
152 

Colonization,  European  the- 
ory of,  127;  change  in  that 
theory,  131 

Columbia  College  (see  also 
King's  College),  name  of 
King's  College  changed  to, 
173;  development  into  a 
university,  260 

Columbia  Gardens,  204 

Colve,  Capt.  Anthony,  re- 
ceives surrender  of  city,  55 ; 
character,  56;  troubles 
with  Long  Island  Puritans, 


<6 ;  establishes  military 
law,  57;  imposes  heavy 
taxes,  57;  succeeded  by 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  58 
Commerce,  influence  of,  9; 
blow  to,  by  war  between 
Holland  and  England,  54; 
early,  90;  restrictions  on, 
98;  increase  of,  175,  245 
Commercial  honor,  low  tone 

of,   180 
Committee  of  Fifty-one,  147, 

148 
Committee  of  Mechanics,  147 
Committee  of  Safety,  82 
Committee  of  Sixty,  148 
Committee  of  Vigilance,  147 
Common,   the,    116;     Stamp 

Act  rioting  on,  140 
Common  Council,  disloyalty 

of,  246 
Connecticut,  joins  expedition 

against  Canada,  83 
Connecticut  River,  Van  Twill- 

er's  fort  on,  21 
Connecticut  Valley,  English 

take  possession  of,  21,  26 
Constables,  election  of,  178 
Constitution   of   New   York, 
abolishes  religious  disabili- 
ties,    174;      character    of 
framers,  176;    adoption  of 
a  new,  210,  213 
Constitution  of  United  States, 
adoption  of,  180;   position 
of  Hamilton  in  regard  to, 
183;    procession  in  honor 
of,    184,    185;     centennial 
celebration  of  adoption  of, 

259 
Continental    Army,    motley 

character  of,  156 
Continental    Congress,     first 

idea  of  holding,   147;    the 

first  and  second,  149 
Convicts,  early  importations 

of,  118,  1x9 


Index 


281 


Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  240 

Cooper,  Peter,  258 

Cooper  Union,  258 

Cornbury,  Lord  Edward  H., 
appointed  governor,  104; 
character,  105;  misappro- 
priates public  funds,  105; 
removal  of,  105. 

Corruption,  political,  251,  263 

Cosby,  Gov.  William,  charac- 
ter, 123;  libeled  by  Zenger, 
124 

Costume,  of  early  Dutch  set- 
tlers, 39;  in  colonial  period, 
95;  at  beginning  of  nine- 
teenth century,  203 

Council  of  Appointment,  175, 
176;  power  of ,  196;  aboli- 
tion of,  213 

Council  of  Twelve,  Kieft's,  29 

Court  house,  frauds  in  con- 
struction of,  233 

Court  party,  known  as  Tories, 
125;  Episcopalians  and 
Dutch  in,  136;  great  fam- 
ilies the  leaders  in,  136; 
revival  of,  142 

Criminal  classes,  large  pro- 
portion of,  among  early 
settlers,  35 

Croton  aqueduct,  240 

Crow's  Nest,  8 

Curtis,  George  W.,  author  of 
"Potiphar  Papers,"  241 

Customs  duties,  refusal  to 
pay,  62 

Declaration  of  Independence, 
supported  by  best  citizens, 
156 

Declaration  of  Rights  by 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  138 

Defenses,  inferiority  of,  156, 

IS7 
De  Lancey,  James,  appointed 
chief-justice,  124;  conduct 
in  trial  of  Zenger,  124 


De  Lancey  family,  armorial 
bearings  of,  115;  leaders  of 
court  party,  125,  136,  142 

Delaware  River,  Swedish 
possessions  on,  3;  Dutch 
colony  on,  21;  Swedish 
colony  defeated  by  Stuy- 
vesant,  40;  extinction  of 
Swedish  Lutheran  Church, 
on,  in 

Demagogism,  179 

Democracy,  tendencies  of 
Dutch  settlers  toward,  41; 
early  limitations  of,  88; 
rise  against  the  oligarchy, 
135;  early  opinions  about, 
176;  absolute  sway  of,  200 

Democratic  party,  rise  of 
name,  186;  control  State 
and  city,  193;  merciless 
use  of  patronage,  197 ;  sup- 
port the  French,  200;  split 
in,  236;  controlled  by 
Tammany  Hall  ,237;  power 
of,  245;  corruption  in,  252 

De  Peyster  family,  leaders  in 
the  court  party,  136 

Detroit,  wrested  from  the 
French,  5 

De  Vries,  patroon,  25,  27 

Disorders,  after  fall  of  An- 
dros,  73;  after  Bellomont's 
death,  103 

Doctors'  Mob,  the,  174 

Dominie,  first  house  for  the, 
19 

Dongan,  Thomas,  appointed 
governor,  64;  policy  and 
character,  64,  68;  recalled, 
69 

Draft  riots,  248,  250 

Drake,  Rodman,  240 

Drinking  habits,  early  colo- 
nial, 115 

Duane,  James,  first  mayor 
after  Revolution,  178 

Duels,  190 


282 


Index 


Dutch,  settlements  in  Ameri- 
ica,  3,  4;  defeated  by  Ply- 
mouth colonists,  2 1 ;  char- 
acteristics of,  23,  24;  mas- 
sacre by  Indians,  28;  reli- 
gious liberty  under  English 
rule,  47,  50;  recapture  of 
city  by,  54 

Dutch  Church,  rights  guaran- 
teed to,  87 ;  extinction  pre- 
vented, in 

Dutch  rule,  transition  to  Eng- 
lish, 46;  restoration  of,  54; 
end  of,  57. 

East  Indies,  early  trade  with, 
90 

East  River  bridge,  257 

Education,  in  early  colonial 
times,  116;  foundation  of 
free-school  system,  206 

Election  riots,  234 

Elections,  intimidation  at, 
97;  disorderly  aldermanic, 
103;  frauds  at,  252 

Electoral  College,  tie- vote  for 
Jefferson  and  Burr,  193 

Electric  telegraph,  develop- 
ment of,  216 

Eleventh  New  York  Volun- 
teers, 249 

Embargo,  the,  201 

England,  the  cradle  of  sea- 
men, 1 ;  immigration  from, 
26,  256;  seizes  New  Am- 
sterdam, 43,  45;  war  with 
Holland,  51,  54;  early 
trade  with,  90;  treatment 
of  colonies  compared  with 
other  nations,  126;  how 
colonies  might  have  been 
preserved,  132,  133 

English,  settlements  in  Amer- 
ica, 3;  early  settlers,  14, 
34;  Minuit's  relations  with, 
18;  Van  Twiller's  relations 
with,  20;    immigration  of, 


26,  256;  early  settlers  be- 
long to  aristocratic  party, 
48;  regain  possession  of 
New  York,  57;  see  also 
British 

English  law,  supremacy  of,  in 
New  York,  5 

English  rule,  transition  from 
Dutch  to,  46;  overthrown 
by  the  Dutch,  54,  55;  re- 
stored, 57 

English-speaking  race,  mar- 
velous spread  of,  127 

Episcopalian  Church,  the 
fashionable  organization, 
112;  growth  of,  256;  see 
also  Church  op  England 

Episcopalian  churches, 

closed  for  fear  of  mobs, 
154;  reopened  during  Brit- 
ish occupation,  168 

Episcopalians,  detestation  of 
Leisler,  80 ;  persecutions  of 
Presbyterians  by,  no,  112 

Equality,  necessity  of,  in  the 
Federal  Union,  133 

Equal  Rights  Men,  236 

Erie  Canal,  effect  on  city,  215 

Evacuation,  by  Washington's 
troops,  162;  by  British 
troops,  171 

Evertsen,  Adm.  Cornelis, 
takes  the  city,  54;  makes 
Colve  director  of  the  pro- 
vince, 55 

Exchange,  foundation  of  the, 

53 
Execution     Dock,     Captain 

Kiddhungat,  102 
Explorers,  an  age  of,  1,  2 

Farming,  advance  in,  25 
"Federalist,"  the,  183,  240 
Federalist  party,  New  York 
the  seat  of  power  of,  181, 
182;    struggle  with   Anti- 
Federalists,   186;  first  big 


Index 


*83 


break  in ,  1 88 ;  successes  of, 
189;  fall  of,  192;  merciless 
use  of  patronage,  197 ;  sup- 
port the  British,  200 

Federal  Union,  equality  a 
necessity  in,  133,  134 

Feudal  privileges,  16,  25 

Fifth  Avenue,  243 

Fires,  incendiary,  in  1741, 
121;  during  British  occu- 
pation, 168;  large  losses 
by,  234 

Fire-water,  introduction 
among  Indians,  7 

Fisheries,  early,  53,  67,  90 

Fitch,  John,  pioneer  in  steam 
navigation,  209 

Fletcher,  Benjamin,  gov- 
ernor, 96 ;  connection  with 
pirates,  96;  character,  97; 
quarrels  with  New  Eng- 
land and  with  Assembly, 
99;  recalled,  99 

Florida,  3 

Flour,  monopoly  of  bolting 
and  exporting,  60 

Fort,  early,  14 

Fort  Orange,  47 

France,  enmity  to,  71,  89; 
wars  with,  90 

Franchise,  different  kinds  of, 

x75 

Freeholders,  privileges  of, 
118,  175,  178 

French,  settlements  in  Amer- 
ica, 3;  characteristics  of 
pioneers,  23 

French  wars,  retarded  Amer- 
ican Revolution,  132 

French  war-ship,  ,  terrorizes 
city,  105 

Frontenac,  Louis  de  B., cruel- 
ties in  New  York  and  New 
England,  83 

Frontiersman,   evolution  of, 

23 
Fulton,    Robert,    introduces 


steam     navigation,     209; 
builds  steam  frigate,  209 
Fur  trade,  7,  9,  18,  131,  218 

Gage,  Gen.  Thomas,  com- 
mander of  garrison,  139; 
yields  stamps  to  municipal 
authorities,  141 

Gallatin,  Albert,  abhorrence 
of  partisan  proscription, 
196 

Gallows,  the,  37 

"Gazette,"  the,  first  news- 
paper, 123 

"General  Armstrong,"  fight 
of  the,  210 

George  III.,  effect  of  his  blun- 
ders, 137;  address  by 
Stamp  Act  Congress  to, 
138;  erection  of  monu- 
ment to,  142;  monument 
destroyed,  142 

German  Calvinists,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  109 

German  Lutherans,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  109 

Germans,  early  settlers,  14, 
34;  immigration  of,  106, 
224,  228,  256;  furnish 
large  proportion  of  auxil- 
iaries to  British  troops, 
161,  note 

Governor,  restrictions  on 
power  of,  177 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  Memoirs 
of,  260,  261 

Guinea  Coast,  trade  with,  91 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  influ- 
ence of  his  death  on  Amer- 
ica's future,  4 

Haarlem  Heights,  American 

victory  at,  164 
Hale,    Nathan,  capture  and 

execution  of,  169 
"Half   Moon,"  the,    reaches 


284 


Index 


the  Hudson,  i;  returns  to 
Holland,  8 

Hall,  Oakey,  mayoralty  of, 
252 

Hall  of  Justice,  73 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  con- 
servative principles  of ,  137, 
attitude  in  the  Revolution, 
151;  in  retreat  at  Kip's 
Bay,  164;  leader  of  Fed- 
eralist party,  181;  charac- 
ter, 186,  189;  defender  of 
Loyalists,  182;  success  in 
Federal  movement,  183; 
procession  in  honor  of,  1 84 ; 
heart  of  Federalist  party, 
186;  Secretary  of  Trea- 
sury, 187;  Livingston's 
opinion  of,  188;  dislike  of 
Burr,  189;  maltreatment 
of,  191;  killed  by  Burr, 
199 

"Harper's  Magazine,"  260 

"Harper's  Weekly,"  expo- 
sures of  Tweed,  253 

Hartford,  Conn.,  mail  be- 
tween New  York  and,  54 

Hebrew  immigration,  256 

Hessians,  employment  as 
troops,  and  hatred  of,  159 

Hickey,  Thomas,  hung  for 
plot  against  Washington, 
160 

Holland,  war  with  England, 

51.   54 

Horse-racing  under  Gover- 
nor Lovelace,  53 

Hospitals,  206,  257 

Houses,  of  early  settlers,  37, 
38;  at  beginning  of  nine- 
teenth century,  204;  mod- 
ern, 244 

Howe,  Lord,  attacks  the  city, 
161,  162;   victories  of ,  i65 

Hudson,  Hendrik,  discovers 
Hudson  River,  1,  6;  re- 
turns to  Holland,  8 


Hudson  Bay  Company,  16 
Hudson  River,  in  hands  of 
the  Dutch,  3;    early  belief 
about.  6;   scenery,  8;  new 
settlements  on,  25;   opera- 
tions of  British  fleet  on, 
161;  steamboats  on,  216 
Huguenots,  early  settlers,  14, 
34,  48,  49 ;  religious  liberty 
under    English    rule,    50; 
benefits  conferred  on,  66; 
element  in  population,  71, 
no 
Hungarian  immigration,  256 
Hunter,    Robert,    appointed 
governor,  106 

Immigrants,  a  bad  class  of, 
119 

Immigration,  encouragement 
of,  25;  increase  of,  205, 
210,  215,  222  et  seq.; 
change  in  character  of,  256 

Import  duties,  reserved  to 
Duke  of  York,  66 

Independence,  but  dimly 
seen  at  first,  136;  the 
logical  result  of  revolu- 
tionary measures,  156 

India,  search  for  new  route 
to,  1,6 

Indian  Ocean,  trade  with 
ports  of,  91 ;   piracy  on,  94 

Indians,  fate  of,  5 ;  on  shores 
of  Hudson  River,  6,  7; 
early  strife  with,  6;  first 
taste  of  fire-water,  7 ;  trade 
with,  10;  sell  Manhattan 
Island,  14;  Minuit's  rela- 
tions with,  16,  18;  Van 
Twiller's  relations  with,  20 ; 
massacre  Dutch  colonists 
on  Delaware  River,  21; 
sale  of  weapons  to,  forbid- 
den, 24;  war  with,  under 
Kieft's  administration,  26, 
28;   Stuyvesant's  relations 


Index 


»*s 


with,  39;  danger  from,  46, 
47;  treatment  by  Gover- 
nor Nicolls,  51;  relations 
with  Governor  Lovelace, 
53;  end  of  slavery  of,  61; 
Dongan's  relations  with, 
68;  private  acquisitions  of 
land  from,  97 

Ingoldsby,  Richard,  lieuten- 
ant-governor, lands  at  New 
York,  86;  skirmish  with 
Leisler's  troops,  86 

Inns,  25,  118 

Irish,  prominent  element  of 
population,  no;  Protest- 
antism of  early  settlers, 
no;  furnish  large  propor- 
tion of  auxiliaries  to  Brit- 
ish troops,  16 1,  note;  im- 
migration, 224,  226;  riots, 
250,  251;  decrease  of  im- 
migration, 256 

Irving,  Washington,  208,  240 

Italians,  maritime  enterprise 
of,  2;  immigration,  256 

Tail,  the,  118 

James  II.  (see  also  York, 
Duke  of)  ,  accession  of,  68 ; 
change  of  policy,  68;  op- 
position to,  70;  tyranny 
of,  76;  hatred  of  his  gov- 
ernment, 76,  77;  action  in 
exile,  79 

Java,  value  compared  with 
New  Netherlands,  4,  57 

Jay,  John,  conservative  prin- 
ciples of,  137;  member  of 
Committee  of  Fifty-one, 
14^ ;  attitude  in  the  Revo- 
lution, 151;  leader  in 
Provincial  Congress,  155; 
leader  of  Federalist  party, 
181,  186;  character,  181, 
186 ;  defender  of  Loyalists, 
182;  joint  author  of  the 
"Federalist,"    183;    oppo- 


sition to,  187;  appointed 
chief- justice,  187;  treaty 
with  England,  190;  ap- 
pointments of ,  195. 

Jealousy,  class,  73;  ill  effects 
of,  12*9,  158;  Washington's 
troubles  from  State,  171 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  tie- vote 
in  Electoral  College,  193; 
chosen  President,  193; 
maxim  as  to  patronage, 
195;  antagonism  to  Burr, 
197 

Jeffersonian  Republicans,  rise 
of,   186 

Jews,  religious  community  in 
eighteenth  century,  109; 
prohibition  of  suffrage  to, 
112 

Johnson  family,  leaders  in 
court  party,  136;  rulers  of 
Mohawk  Valley,  136 

Judges,  election  of,  214 

Justices,  first,  50 

Kidd,  Captain,  fitted  out  as 
pirate-hunter,  10 1;  turns 
pirate,  101;  hung,  101; 
buried    treasure     of,     102 

Kieft,  William,  succeeds  Van 
Twiller,  22;  character  and 
government ,  19;  Indi  an 
wars,  26;  chooses  council, 
29;  removed,  30 

King,  Rufus,  made  senator, 
187 

King's  College,  under  control 
of  Church  of  England,  112; 
expulsion  of  president,  154, 
change  of  name,  173;  see 
also  Columbia  College 

Kip's  Bay,  American  forces 
routed  at,  163,  164 

Knickerbocker  Club,  257 

Know-Nothing  party,  237 

Labor,  early  colonial,  118,122 


286 


Index 


Labor  party,  of  1830,  235 

Labor  riots,  234 

La  Montagne,  Johannes, 
councillor  with  Kieft,  24, 
27 

Language,  English,  the  offi- 
cial, no;  abandonment  of 
Dutch,  in,  211;  French, 
211,  and  note;  German, 
211,  224,  225 

Launderer,  a  pedagogical,  20 

Lawrence,  Cornelius  Van 
Wyck,  elected  mayor,  235 

Legislative  council,  the  first, 
36 

Legislature,  loyalty  to  George 
III.,  150;  control  city  gov- 
ernment, 178,  179 

Leisler,  Jacob,  leader  of  pop- 
ular party  in  1689,  75;  char- 
acter, 75,  80;  quarrel  with 
collector  of  the  port,  76; 
overcomes  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor and  city  council,  78; 
short-sighted  policy  of,  80, 
82;  opposition  to  Episco- 
palians and  Puritans,  81; 
general  opposition  to,  81; 
disobeys  royal  proclama- 
tion, 82;  nominated  as 
commander-in-chief,  82 ; 
assumes  the  title  of  lieu- 
tenant-governor, 82;  rule 
not  recognized  by  Albany, 
83 ;  quarrel  with  New  Eng- 
land allies,  84;  treatment 
of  Long  Islanders,  84;  de- 
serted by  his  supporters, 
85;  refuses  to  recognize 
Lt.-Gov.  Ingoldsby,  85; 
arrested  and  hung,  86 ;  dis- 
interred and  honored,  100 

Leislerian  party,  put  down, 
104;  influence  01,  105 

Lewis  Morgan,  191;  elected 
governor,  198;  defeat  of, 
199 


Libel  law,  obsolete  theory  of, 
124 

Liberties  and  privileges,  char- 
ter of,  66 ;  granted  by  Don- 
gan,  67 

Liberty,  struggle  for,  179 

Liberty  pole,  erection  of,  143 ; 
riot  over,  144,  145 

Libraries,  the  New  York  So- 
ciety, 174;  the  Astor,  218 

Literary  societies,  207,  208 

Literature,  early  colonial, 
117;  rise  of,  208;  the 
birthplace  of  American, 
240;  growth  of,  260 

Livingston,  Edward,  ap- 
pointed mayor  and  U.  S. 
district  attorney,  196 

Livingston,  Robert  R.,  feel- 
ings toward  Hamilton,  188 

Livingston,  Robert,  partner 
with  Captain  Kidd,  101 

Livingston  family,  descent 
of,  87,  note;  armorial 
bearings  of ,  1 1 5 ;  leaders  in, 
the  popular  party,  125,136, 
142;  prominent  members 
of,  155,  note;  156,  note; 
supporters  of  Hamilton, 
187;  indorse  Burr,  189;  dis- 
trust of  Burr,  191;  appor- 
tionment of  patronage 
among,  196;  opposition  to 
Burr,  197;  decline  of  pow- 
er, 200;  power  of ,  202 

Local  boards,  239 

Loco-foco  party,  236 

Long  Island,  English  take 
possession  of  eastern  half 
of,  26;  revolt  against  Stuy- 
vesant  on,  40;  Puritans 
refuse  to  be  taxed,  53; 
horse-racing  on,  53;  trou- 
bles between  Puritans  and 
Colve,  56;  Leisler's  opera- 
tions in,  84 ;  Tory  majority 
in,  158;  landing  of  British 


Index 


287 


troops  on,  161;  supply  of 
provisions  from,  205 

Long  Island  Sound,  first  ship 
on,  9;  new  settlements  on, 
25 ;  passage  forced  by  Brit- 
ish fleet,  164,  165;  steam- 
boats on, 216 

Lovelace,  Gov.  Francis,  suc- 
cessor to  Nicolls,  52;  char- 
acter, 52;  troubles  with 
Long  Island  Puritans,  53; 
supported  by  Dutch  and 
English,  53;  relations  with 
Indians,  53;  establishes 
mail  to  Boston  and  Hart- 
ford, 54 

Loyalists,  devotion  of,  151; 
plundered,  153 ;  their  news- 
paper office  wrecked,  154; 
night  of,  160*  in  popula- 
tion surrounding  the  city, 
166;  deported  on  evacu- 
ation, 172;  Hamilton  and 
Jay  as  defenders  of,  182; 
restored  to  legal  equality 
with  other  citizens,  182; 
see  also  Tories 

Loyalty,  lack  of,  in  early 
Dutch  settlers,  16;  of  citi- 
zens at  outbreak  of  civil 
war,  247 

Ludlow  family,  prominent 
members  of,  155,  and  note. 

Lutheran  Church,  growth  of, 
256 

Lutherans,  persecution  by 
Stuyvesant,  42;  religious 
liberty  under  English  rule, 

5° 
Liitzen,  battle  of,  4 

Madagascar,    pirate    station 

at,  94 
Madison,  James,  joint  author 

of  the  "Federalist,"  183 
Magazines,  260 
Magyar  immigration,  256 


Maiden  Lane,  origin  of  name, 

37 

Mall,  the,  113 

Manhattan,  discovery  of,  1, 
6;  value  compared  with 
Java,  4;  Dutch  post  on,  9; 
early  civilized  life  on,  10; 
sold  to  the  Dutch,  14 

Manufacture,  right  to,  25 

Markets,  205 

Massachusetts,  effects  of  re- 
bellion in,  180 

Mayor,  first,  50;  office  abol- 
ished, 55;  appointed  by 
governor,  67 ;  first  elective, 
83 ;  appointment  of  James 
Duane,  178 

Mayoralty,  colonial  system 
of  appointment,  178; 
change  in  manner  of  elec- 
tion to,  214;  first  election 
by  universal  suffrage,  235 

Mayors,  various  nationalities 
of,  107 

Meeting,  first  popular,  29 

Mercenary  troops,  New  Eng- 
land, 28;  employment  of 
Hessians,  and  hatred  for, 

Merchants,  early  col onial.i  17 

Methodist  Church,  strength 
before  the  Revolution  and 
at  present  day,  109;  in- 
crease in,  174 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art, 
260 

Metropolitan  Opera  House, 
260 

Milborne,  Jacob,  leader  of 
popular  party  in  1689,  75; 
hung,  86;  disinterred,  100 

Military  law,  established  by 
Colve,  57 

Militia,  rising  against  Gov. 
Nicholson,  77,  78 

Mill,  the  first,  18 

Minuit,  Peter,  first  governor 


a88 


Index 


of  the  colony,  13;   charac- 
ter,  15;    buys  Manhattan 
Island  from   Indians,    14; 
relations  with  Indians,  1 6 ; 
relations  with  English,  18; 
rule  of,  18;    recall  of,  19; 
enters  Swedish  service,  19; 
leads  band  of  Swedes  to 
the  Delaware,  26 
Mitchell,  Dr.  Samuel,  208 
Mohawk  River,  fort  near,  9 
Mohawks,  secret  society,  re- 
organization of,  146 
Mohawk  Valley,  under  rule 

of  Johnson  family,  136 
Money,  issue  of  paper,  107 
Montreal,     Schuyler's    raids 

on,  83 
Morris,     Chief- Justice,     ex- 
pelled   from    office,     124; 
conservative  principles  of, 

J37 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  type  of 
Whig  party,  150;  attitude 
in  the  Revolution,  151; 
leader  of  Federalist  party, 
181;  position  in  1 81 2,  201; 
elected  senator,  189;  plans 
Erie  Canal,  215 

Morris  family,  armorial  bear- 
ings of,  115;  leaders  in 
Provincial  Congress,  155 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B.,  216 

Mount  Vernon  Gardens,  204 

Museums,  260 

Native  American  party,  194, 

237 
Naturalization,  47,  66 
Negroes,  early  importations 
of,  34;  legislation  against 
assemblages  of,  67 ;  plot  of 
1741,  119;  massacre  of, 
122;  annual  celebration  of 
Pinkster,  116;  emancipa- 
tion, 211;  suffrage,  213; 
in  draft  riots,  248 


Netherlands,  cradle  of  sea- 
men, 1 

New  Amsterdam,  founded, 
1 4 ;  mixture  of  population, 
14,  34;  beginning  of  stable 
existence,  34;  compared 
with  New  England,  35; 
society  in,  35,  36;  incorpo- 
ration of,  36;  appearance 
of  the  town,  37,  38;  cos- 
tume in,  39;  amusements, 
39;  seized  by  England,  43, 
44 ;  name  changed  to  New 
York,  46,  57 

New  England,  English  settle- 
ments in,  3 ;  compared  with 
New  Amsterdam,  35;  colo- 
nists held  in  check  by  Stuy- 
vesant,  40 ;  settlers  opposed 
to  aristocracy  and  Episco- 
pacy, 49;  united  to  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  69; 
action  on  fall  of  the  Stuarts, 
74;  indifference  to  welfare 
of  New  York,  99;  quarrels 
with  Gov.  Fletcher,  99 ;  in- 
difference to  New  York's 
prosperity,  129;  sympa- 
thy for,  in  New  York, 
146 

New  Englanders,  character- 
istics of,  23;  kept  in  check 
by  Colve,  56 

"New  England  Invasion," 
the,  211 

New  Jersey,  settlements  in, 
25;  severed  from  New 
York,  59 ;  united  with  New 
York  and  New  England, 
69;  retreat  of  Washington 
to,  165 

"New  Netherland,"  the,  13 

New  Netherland  Company, 
formation  of  the,  1 1 

New  Netherlands,  value  com- 
pared with  Java  and  Suri- 
nam,  4,   57;    named,    11: 


Index 


289 


decline  of,  23;    seized  by 
England,  44 
Newsboys'  lodging  house,  257 
scurrility     of. 


see   also    their 


Newspapers, 

189,    190; 

titles. 
New  Year  observance,  116 
New  Yorker,  composition  of 

a  typical,  108 
New  York  Medical  Society, 

x74 
New  York  Province,  united 

with    New    England    and 

New  Jersey,  69 
New  York  Society  Library, 


^chc 


Nicholson,  Sir  Francis,  leader 
of  aristocratic  party  in 
1689,  74;  quarrel  with 
militia,  78 

Nicolls,  Col.  Richard,  seizes 
New  Amsterdam,  44 ;  agent 
for  Duke  of  York,  47 ;  rule 
in  New  York,  47;  charac- 
ter, 47,  51 ;  refuses  right  of 
election  of  representatives, 
50;  treatment  of  Indians, 
51;  benefits  of  his  control, 
51 ;  returns  to  England,  52 

Night-schools,  257 

"Nine  Men,"  the,  42 

Non-importation  agreement, 
the,  139 

North  Carolina,  effects  of  re- 
bellion in,  180 

Northwest  passage,  search 
for,  1,  6 

O'Brien,    Colonel,    killed   in 

draft  riots,  249  . 
"Onrest,"  the,  first  ship  built 

in  American  waters,  9 
Opera-house  riot,  233 

Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Com- 
pany, 219 
Packet  ships,  221 

19 


Palisades,  the,  8 

Panic,  of  1836,  234 

Paper  money,  issue  of,  107, 

178 
Parks,  257 
Park  Theatre,  203 
Parties,     political,     49,     61; 

effect  of  race  on,  75 
Passport  system,  24 
Paternal  government,  24,  32, 

33 

Patriotism  of  Revolutionary 
party,  159;  of  Presby- 
terian settlers,  161,  note. 

Patronage,  early  system  of, 
178;  Jefferson's  maxim  as 
to,  195;    merciless  use  of, 

*97 

Patroon,  title  of,  16 
Patroons,  troubles  with,  17; 

privileges  of,    25;    turned 

into    manorial    lords,    50; 

Stuyvesant's    struggles 

with,  41 
Penn,     William,     advice    to 

James  II.,  64 
Philadelphia,  compared  with 

New   York  in    17 10,    108; 

sentiment  about  Tea  Act, 

146;    meeting  of  Congress 

at,  185 
Phillipse   family,   leaders  in 

court  party,  74,  136 
Pinkster,  observance  of,  116 
Piracy,  premium  on,  98 
Pirates,  91,  92;    success  and 

numbers  of ,  92 ,  93 ;  engaged 

in  slave  trade,  93 ;    efforts 

toward    abolition    of,    96; 

Bellomont's        crusade 

against,     10 1;     career    of 

Captain  Kidd,  101 
Players'  Club,  260 
Plots,  rumors  of  Catholic,  77 ; 

negro,  120;    for  abduction 

or  murder  of  Washington, 

160 


290 


Index 


Plundering,  by  Continental 
Army,  161 

Plymouth  settlers,  enter  the 
Connecticut  Valley,  2 1 

Police  board,  239 

Police  riots,  239 

Polish  immigration,  256 

Political  corruption,  251,  252, 
263 

Poor-house,  118 

Poor-laws,  107 

Popular  government,  fore- 
shadowing of,  29 

Popular  party,  in  1689,  73; 
constitution  of ,  74,  136;  in 
control  of  the  city,  78; 
downfall  of,  86;  opposed 
by  Fletcher,  97;  corrup- 
tion of,  104;  hated  by 
Corn  bury,  104;  newspaper 
of  the,  123;  known  as 
Whigs,  125;  great  families 
in,  136;  shrink  from  inde- 
pendence,    149;     excesses 

by.  I51 
Popular  rights, struggle  for,88 
Population,  increase  of,  18; 
character  of  early,  34,  35, 
47,  48;  at  time  of  second 
establishment  of  English 
rule,  59;  fusion  of  races, 
72,  108,  227;  in  1710,  108; 
at  outbreak  of  Revoiution, 
108;  diversity  of,  108;  line 
drawn  between  Provincial 
and  Old  World  people,  114; 
Presbyterians,  Dutch,  and 
Huguenots,  136;  increase 
after  Revolution,  173;  at 
beginning  of  nineteenth 
century,  202;  condition  at 
close  of  war  of  1812,  210, 
211;  in  1820,  213;  in- 
crease of,  215;  in  i860, 245; 
proportion  of  foreign  ele- 
ment in,  256;  American- 
ization of,  256 


Portugal,  early  explorations 

of,  2 
"Potiphar  Papers,"  241 
Poverty,  dangers  of,  222 
Presbyterians,     opposed     to 
aristocracy     and     episco- 
pacy,   49;     persecuted  by 
Cornbury,    104,    105;    im- 
migration of,  107;  strength 
in  eighteenth  century,  no 
Press,  liberty  of,  124 
Press-gangs,  139 
Princeton  College,  116 
Prison-ships,  horrors  of,  170 
Privateering,     popular     and 

profitable,  91,  92,  93,  210 
Privateers,   depredations  on 
commerce,  54,  90;  capture 
of    French    ships    by,    84; 
riots  of  crews,   92;    fitted 
out  in  British  interests,  166 
Protestants,  liberty  of  con- 
science granted  to,  87 
Provincial      Assembly,      de- 
manded and  granted,  63; 
issue  of  writs  for,  65 
Public  buildings,  19,  257 
Public  lands,  apportionment 

of,  by  Fletcher,  97 
Puritans,  hostility  to  Dutch, 
2 1 ;  insubordination  on 
Long  Island,  53;  troubles 
with  Col ve,  56;  hostility  of 
Andros  to,  61 
Putnam,  Gen.  Israel,  164 

Quakers,  refuge  for,  26;  per- 
secution by  Stuyvesant, 
42;  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 109 

Queen  Anne,  appoints  Lord 
Cornbury  governor,  1 04 ; 
resemblance  of  Lord  Corn- 
bury to,  104 

Race,  effect  on  parties,  75 
Race  prejudice,  early,  49 


Index 


291 


Races,  mixture  of,  14 
Railroads,    development    of, 

216 
Raritan   Indians,  war  with, 

26,  27,  28 
Redempti  oners,   118 
Red  River,  Valley  of,  barred 

from  settlement,   16 
Red  Sea,  trade  with  ports  of, 

oi ;  piracy  on,  94 
Red  Star  Line,  the,  221 
Religion,  effect  on  parties,  75 
Religious  bodies,  in  colonial 

times,   109 
Religious     differences,     229, 

230 
Religious  liberty,  26,  47,  50, 

53,  64,  65,  174 
Rensselaerswyck,   extent  of, 

17;    Stuyvesant's  troubles 

with  the  patroon  of,  41 
Republican  party,   origin  of 

name,  186;   rise  of,  237 
"Restless,"    the;     see   "On- 

rest" 
Revolution,    causes    leading 

to,  126;   first  bloodshed  in 

the,  145;    dangers  of,  153; 

operations     against     New 

York,  159;   results  of  war, 

Ring  politics,  252,  253 

Riots,  Stamp  Act,  140;  lib- 
erty-pole, 144,  145;  ante- 
Revolution,  153,  154;  anti- 
Federalist,  190;  theatre, 
232;  Astor  Place,  233; 
bread,  234;  labor,  234; 
abolition ,  234;  election , 
234;  police,  239;  draft, 
250;    Hibernian,  250 

Riverside  Drive,  257 

Roman  Catholic  Church, 
hatred  of,  76;  priests  con- 
demned to  death  by  Assem- 
bly, 105;  weakness  before 
the   Revolution,    109;    in- 


creased strength  at  present 
day,  109;  growth,  215, 
229,  256;  Americanization 
of,  231 

Roman  Catholics,  forbidden 
entrance  to  the  colony, 
112;  patriotism  of,  in 
Maryland,  161,  note;  lib- 
eration of,  174 

Roosevelt,  Isaac,  155,  note. 

Roosevelt,  John  J.,  156,  note. 

Roosevelt,  Nicholas,  leader 
in  Provincial  Congress,  155 
note;  pioneer  in  steam 
navigation,  209 

Russian  immigration,  256 

Rynders,  Isaiah,  238,  246 

Sabbatarian  legislation,  67 

St.  Lawrence  River,  French 
commonwealth  on,  4 

St.  Mark's  Church,  31 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  240 

Sanitary  Commission,  the,  248 

Sanitary  conditions,  205 

Santa  Fe\  5 

Saskatchewan  Valley,  barred 
from  settlement,  16 

Savings  bank,  the  first,  206 

Scandinavian  immigration, 
256 

Schepens,  abolition  of  the, 
50;   office  restored,  55 

Schoolmaster,  the  first,  20 

Schools,  118 

School  system,  founded,  206; 
Roman  Catholic  opposi- 
tion to,  237 

Schout-nscai,  the,  19;  aboli- 
tion of  the,  50;  office  re- 
stored, 55 

Schuyler,  Peter,  leads  oppo- 
sition to  Leisler  in  Albany, 
83 ;  raids  on  Montreal,  84 

Schuyler,  Philip  J.,  elected 
senator,  189 

Schuyler   family,   leaders  in 


292 


Index 


the  popular  party,  136; 
supporters  of  Hamilton. 
187 

Scientific  societies,  207 

Sclave  immigration,  256 

"Scribner's  Magazine,  '  260 

Seafaring  population,  90,  ot 

Seamen,  an  age  of ,  1 ,  2 ;  brav- 
ery of  colonial,  130 

"Sea-Mew,"  the,  brings  the 
first  true  colonists,  13 

Sea-rovers,  2 

Sears,  Isaac,  155 

Secession,  proposed,  246 

Sedan  chairs,  115 

Self-government,  Dutch  love 
for,  24;  demands  for,  29; 
early  steps  toward,  66,  90; 
failure  under  James  II . ,  69 ; 
action  of  Assembly  in  re- 
gard to,  105;  a  necessary 
ingredient  in,  106;  of  Can- 
ada and  Australia,  131; 
restriction  of,  1 78 ;  powers 
of  American  cities  con- 
trasted with  those  of  Eu- 
rope, 178 

Selfishness,  among  colonists, 
129 

Separationists,  149 

Separatist  idea,  70 

Servants,  early  colonial,  118, 
121 

Settlement,  first,  8,  12 

Seventh  Regiment,  247 

Seymour,  Gov.  Horatio,  con- 
duct in  draft  riots,  249;  in 
presidential  election  of 
1868,  252 

Sheriff,  first,  50;  office  abol- 
ished, 55;  appointment  of , 
178 

Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T.,  261 

Ship-building,  220 

Slavers,  as  pirates,  93 

Slaves,  early  importations  of, 
35;   legislation  against  as- 


semblages of,  67;  insur- 
rections of,  107,  120;  in 
early  colonial  times,  119, 
122;  see  also  Negroes 

Slave  trade,  91 

Sloughter,  Governor,  85,  86 

Smith,  Rev.  Sydney,  criti- 
cism on  American  litera- 
ture, 240 

Smuggling,  early,  92;  pre- 
mium on,  98 ;  put  down  by 
Bellomont,  100 

Social  life,  115,  185;  at  be- 
ginning of  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, 202,  204;  in  modern 
times,  242,  244,  262 

Social  lines,  112 

Society,  in  New  Amsterdam, 
35,  36;  in  1710,  108,  109 

Sons  of  Liberty,  organization 
of,  138;  meeting  of,  140; 
defense  of  the  liberty-pole, 
144;  reorganization  of, 
146;  riots  and  proceedings 

Spain,  early  explorations  of, 
2 ;  waning  power  of,  2 ;  ten- 
acity in  America,  3;  war- 
fare of  the  West  India 
Company  against,  12,  13; 
wars  with,  90 

Spanish  wars,  retarded 
American  Revolution,  132 

Spoils  system,  establishment 
of,  194;  De  Witt  Clinton's 
introduction  of,  215 

Sports,  early  colonial,  115, 
116 

Stadt-huys,  the,  37 

Stamp  Act,  passage  of,  138, 
139;  opposition  to,  138, 
149;  noting,  138,  141; 
repeal  of,  141 

Stamp  Act  Congress,  meeting 
of,  138;  Declaration  of 
Rights  and  Address  by  138 

Staten     Island,     settlements 


Index 


393 


on,  25;    Tory  majority  in, 

158 

Steam  navigation,  beginning 
of,  208;  increase  in,  216; 
Vanderbilt's  connection 
with,  218 

Stevens,  John,  pioneer  in 
steam  navigation,  209 

Stockades,  Indian,  28;  on 
site  of  Wall  Street,  37 

Stock-swindling,  252 

Storm- King,  8 

Street  railways,  beginning  of, 
238 

Streets,  laying  out,  25 ;  light- 
ing of,  205 ;  cleaning  of,  205 

Stuart  dynasty,  consequences 
of  overthow  of,  73,  89 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  succeeds 
Kieft  as  governor,  30;  tra- 
dition about,  31;  personal 
appearance  and  character, 
32;  residence,  37;  rela- 
tions with  Indians  and 
New  Englanders,  40; 
seizes  the  Swedish  colony 
on  the  Delaware,  40;  quar- 
rels with  the  colonists,  40 

Suffrage,  limitations  of,  175; 
widening  of,  213;  univer- 
sal, 262 

Sugar-house,  used  as  prison, 
170 

Sumptuary  laws,  24 

Surinam,  value  compared 
with  New  Netherlands,  52, 

57 

Swallow  Tail  Line  of  packets, 
the,  221 

Swedes,  settlements  in  Amer- 
ica, 3,  4;  trouble  on  the 
Delaware,  26,  40 

Tammany  Hall,  controls 
Democratic  party,  237 

Taverns,  the  first,  21;  estab- 
lishment of,  118 


Taxation,  opposition  to  Stuy- 
vesant's  plan  of,  42;  of 
Long  Island  Puritans,  53; 
byColve,  57;  indirect,  131, 
132;  claim  of  "no  taxa- 
tion without  representa- 
tion,"  132 

Tea  Act,  passage  of,  146; 
opposition  to,  146,  147, 
149 

Tenant-farming,  favored  by 
Fletcher,  97 

Theatre,  early,  115 

"Times,"  the,  exposures  of 
Tweed,  253 

Tories,  name  assumed  by 
court  party,  125;  numer- 
ous in  New  York,  134; 
rioting  by,  149;  persecu- 
tion of,  150,  154;  ferocity 
of  struggle  with  Whigs, 
x53;  weakening  influence 
among  colonists,  157;  plot- 
ting among,  160;  destruc- 
tion of  power,  177;  see 
also  Loyalists 

Trading  companies,  11,  13 

Traveling,  in  early  colonial 
days,  115 

Treasurer,  early  powers  of, 
178 

Trenton,  battle  of,  165 

"Tri -Insula,"  proposed  inde- 
pendent commonwealth, 
246 

Trinity  Church,  rebuilt,  173; 
beauty  of,  240 

Tryon,  Gov.  William,  154 

Tweed,  William  M.,  253 

Underhill,  Capt.  John,  In- 
dian fighter,  28,  40 

Union,  rise  of  the  principle 
of  179 

Union  Club,  257 

Union  League  Club,  257 

University  Club,  257 


294 


Index 


Ury,    Rev.    John,    hung    for 
complicity  in   negro  plot, 


Van  Cortlandt,  Stephanus, 
leader  of  aristocratic  party 
in  1689,  74;  chased  from 
the  city,  82 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  217, 
219 

Van  Rensselaer,  patroon,  17 

Van  Rensselaer  family,  lead- 
ers in  Provincial  Congress, 
155;  supporters  of  Hamil- 
ton, 187;   influence  of,  200 

Van  Twiller,  Wouter,  suc- 
ceeds Minuit,  19;  charac- 
ter, 20;  relations  with  In- 
dians, 20;  relations  with 
English,  20;  removal  of,  22 

Van  Wyck,  Abraham,  156, 
note. 

Varick,  Robert,  mayoralty  of, 
196 

Vassalage,  system  of,  17 

Virginia,  English  settlements 
in,  3 ;  influence  over  other 
colonies,  150 

Virginians,  take  possession 
of  Dutch  forts  on  Dela- 
ware River,  21 

Vox  Populi  placards,  140 

Walker,  William,  filibuster, 
219 

Wallabout  Bay,  prison  ships 
in,   170 

Walloons,  early  colonists,  13, 
14;  early  settlers  of  New 
Amsterdam,  34 

Wall  Street,  origin  of  name, 
37;   swindling  in,  252 

Warehouses,  first,  18 

War  of  18 1 2,  209 

Washington,  D.  C.,  261 

Washington,  George,  re- 
bukes destroyers  of  monu- 


ment, 142;  passes  through 
New  York  to  Boston,  154; 
makes  New  York  his  head- 
quarters, 156;  discordant 
materials  for  his  work,  158; 
plot  for  abduction  or  mur- 
der of,  160;  proposes  to 
burn  the  city,  160;  train- 
ing his  raw  army,  160, 161; 
punishes  outrages  by  his 
army,  161;  rescues  forces 
from  Long  Island,  162; 
courage  of,  162,  163;  evac- 
uates New  York,  162,  163; 
at  rout  at  Kip's  Bay, 
163;  at  Haarlem  Heights, 
164;  retreat  from  New 
York,  165;  retreats  to 
New  Jersey,  165;  crosses 
the  Delaware,  165;  wins 
battle  of  Trenton,  165; 
difficulties  of  his  position, 
171;  re-enters  city,  171; 
influence  of,  180;  inaugu- 
rated President,  185;  a 
Federalist,  188;  appoint- 
ments in  New  York,  188, 
195;  respect  for  memory 
of,  259 
Water,  early  supply  of,  205 
Wealth,  increase  after  Revo- 
lution, 173;  growth  of ,  245 
Webster,  Noah,  190 
"We  Dare"  placards,  140 
Weehawken,  N.  J.,  Hamil- 
ton-Burr duel  at,  199 
"Weeklv  Journal,"  the,  es- 
tablished, 123,  124 
West  India  Company,  char- 
tered, 11;  real  founders  of 
the  citv,  12,  13;  magni- 
tude of  its  operations,  12, 
13;  appreciation  of  stock, 
of,  t6;  treatment  of  col- 
ony, 18;  decline  of  interest 
in  New  Netherlands,  2a; 
death  of,  55 


Index 


*95 


West  Indies,  early  trade  with, 
90 

Whale  fisheries,  early,  53 

Whig  party,  the,  235 

Whigs,  name  assumed  by 
popular  party,  125;  atti- 
tude in  early  days  of  Revo- 
lution, 150;  ferocity  of 
struggle  with  Tories,  153 

Whitehall,   37 

Whitehall  Street,  origin  of 
name,  37 

White  Plains,  battle  of,  165 

Wild  beasts,  14 

William  III.,  accession  of,  70; 
appoints  governor  and  lieu- 
tenant-governor, 85;  grant 
of  liberties  by,  90 

Windmills,  19 

Wolves,  reward  for  scalps,  37 

Wood,      Fernando,     elected 


mayor,  238;  disloyalty  of, 

246 
Working-classes,  263 
Working-girls'  clubs,  257 

Yellow  fever,  scourges  of,  205 
York,  Duke  of,  46;  patentee 
of  New  Netherlands,  47; 
character,  53 ;  advocates 
religious  tolerance  for  New 
York,  53;  summons  An- 
dros  to  England,  62 ;  sends 
spy  to  examine  affairs  of 
colony,  62;  takes  advice, 
from 'William  Penn,  64; 
see  also  James  II. 

Zenger,  John  Peter,  founder 
of  the  "Weekly  Journal," 
123;  arrest  and  trial  of, 
124 


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